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i 

THE 

BIBLE  A.  M:IBACL,E; 


OR 


tilje  SStorir  d  (BijH  its  Dtoit  Imtiicss: 


THE    SUPERNATURAL    INSPIRATION    OF 

THE  SCRIPTURES  SHOWN  FROM  THEIR 

LITERARY,   THEOLOGICAL,    MORAL, 

AND   POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 


BY 

EEV.  DAVID  MACDILL. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
WM.  S.  EENTOUL. 

1872. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 

DAVID  MACDILL  and  WM.   S.   RENTOUL, 

In  tlie  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


U 


PREFACE. 

The  object  of  the  following  work  is  two-fold; 
first,  to  present  more  fully  than  has  yet  been  done 
the  argument  for  the  supernatural  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures  drawn  from  their  incomparable  excellence; 
and,  second,  to  meet  the  infidel  assumption  that  ^  mir- 
acles are  incredible,  if  not  impossible,'  by  showing 

that  THE   BIBLE  ITSELF  IS  A  MIRACLE. 

We  take  for  granted  that  the  New  Testament  was 
written  by  Jewish  authors  about  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago;  and  that  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  of  an  earlier,  some  of  them  of  a  much  earlier 
origin.  Lardner's  Oredlbilify  of  the  Gospel  History 
demonstrates  that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
were  in  existence  soon  after  the  commencement  of 
the  Christian  era.  Their  peculiarities  of  language 
and  thought  prove  that  their  authors  were  Hellen- 
istic Jews.  The  testimony  of  Josephus  shows  that 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  were  in  use  among 
the  Jews  moi^e  than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago. 
We  understand  that  these  facts  are  admitted  by  in- 
telligent and  reasonable  men;    and  assuming  them 

as  granted,  we  build  our  argument  upon  them. 

iii 


IV  PREFACE. 

To  prove  some  of  the  points  discussed,  we  rely,  as 
the  reader  will  see,  more  upon  facts,  well-established 
opinions,  and  the  admissions  of  opponents,  than  our 
own  argumentation. 

We  have  freely  used  the  thoughts  of  others. 
Whenever  we  have  done  so,  we  have  endeavored  to 
make  the  proper  acknowledgment.  AYe  may  have 
failed  to  do  so  in  some  cases,  through  oversight. 
AVe  have,  doubtless,  sometimes  used  the  thoughts  of 
others  unconsciously.  AYe  are  conscious  of  indebt- 
edness to  various  authors  of  which  we  can  only  make 
a  general  acknowledgment,  as  now  we  do. 

Our  aim  has  been  to  make  our  book  instructive 
to  readers  in  general.  Hence  we  have,  as  far  as 
possiblej  employed  language  and  illustrations  that 
may  be  understood  by  the  unlearned  as  well  as  the 
learned.  For  the  same  reason  our  quotations  from 
foreign  authors  are  given  in  English.  We  have  not 
thought  it  necessary  to  burden  our  pages  with  the 
original  of  the  passages  quoted. 

We  do  not  claim  that  we  have  exhausted  the  va- 
rious subjects  discussed.  Much  that  we  would  like 
to  have  presented  has  been  omitted,  in  order  to  avoid 
swelling  our  volume  beyond  a  proper  size. 

Cherry  Fork,  Onio;   Odobcr,  1S71. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I. 

THE  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 
Preliminary  considerations 1 

CHAPTER   II. 
Freedom  of  the  Bible  from  absurdity,         ,        .        .    11 

CHAPTER  III. 
Consistency  of  the  Bible  with  science,     •        ,        ,        84 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Literary  excellence  of  the  seemingly  least  valuable 
portions  of  the  Bible, 65 

CHAPTER    V. 

Richness  of  the  Bible  in  grand  and  beautiful  sub- 
jects,      70 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Indebtedness  of  literature  and  literary  men  to  the 

Bible, 77 

V 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
CHAPTER   VI r. 

Testimony  of  eminent  men  to  the  literary  excellence 
of  the  Bible — Sir  W.  Jones,  Archbishop  Fenelon, 
Cowper,  Herder,  Gilfillan,  Edward  Irving,  Addi- 
son, Isaac  Taylor,  Judge  Grimke,  and  Chancel- 
lor Kent,       102 

CHAPTEPw  Vlir. 

Testimony  of  eminent  men  to  the  literary  excellence 
of  the  Bible,  continued — Webster,  Hazlitt,  Schle- 
gel,  and  Lamartine, 114 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Testimony  of  eminent  men  to  the  literary  excellence 
of  the  Bible,  continued — Humboldt,  Gothe,  Rous- 
seau, Renan,  Byron,  Carlyle,  and  the  Westmin- 
ster Review, 119 

CHAPTER   X. 

Excellence  of  the  lyric  poetry  of  the  Bible,         •        ,    131 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Influence  of  the  Bible  on  the  Fine  Arts,  .        •        137 

CHAPTER  Xir. 

Facts  illustrating  the  literary  excellence  of  the 
Bible, 147 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
Summary, 1G6 


CONTENTS.  Vll 


PART  II. 

THE  THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE 
BIBLE. 

PAGE 
CHAPTER   I. 

Preliminary  considerations, 177 


CHAPTER  II. 
Egyptian  theology, 180 

CHAPTER  III. 
Hindu  theology, 191 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Buddhist  theology,  ...•••        201 

CHAPTER  V. 
Persian  theology, 208 

CHAPTER  VI.  / 

Chinese  theology, '    .       223 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Grecian  theology, 228 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
Roman  theology,      ...•..,        239 

CHAPTER    IX. 
Arabic  theology, 246 


Viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
CHAPTER   X. 

Ancient  theology  in  general— its  deterioration,        .        248 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Hebrew  theology,        ...        .        •        •        •        .251 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Concluding  remarks,        .        .        .        .        .        •        270 


PART  III. 

THE  MORAL  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

CHAPTER   I. 
Distinguishing  peculiarities  of  the  Bible  morality,      .    275 

CHAPTER   II. 
Objections  answered,        .        ...        •        •        •        282 

CHAPTER   III. 
Moral  perfection  of  Jesus, 297 

CHAPTER   IV. 
Hebrew  morality  compared  with  other  systems,      .        306 

CHAPTER   V. 

Actual  influence  of  the  Bible  in  favor  of  morality,  348 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 
CHAPTER   VI. 

Facts  illustrating  the  moral  excellence  of  the  Bible,        368 


CHAPTER  Vir. 

Testimony  of  skeptics  to  the  moral  excellence  of 
the  Bible, 378 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
Eecapitulation  and  concluding  remarks,  •        .        387 


PAKT ly. 

THE  POLITICAL  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

CHAPTER    I. 
Its  freedom  from  political  errors,  .        .        •        .     393 

CHAPTER   II. 
The  positive  excellence  of  its  political  ethics,         .        404 

CHAPTER    III. 
Inferiority  of  other  codes, 415 

CHAPTER    IV. 
The  actual  influence  of  the  Bible  on  politics,  ,        434 

CHAPTER   V. 
Recapitulation, 448 


CONTENTS. 

PART   Y. 

MODES  OF  ACCOUNTING  FOR  THE  ORIGIN 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 

PAGE 
CHAPTER   I. 

Infidel  theories, 455 

CHAPTER  ir. 

Infidel  theories,  continued — facts  and  considerations 

further  illustrating  their  insufficiency,     .        .        .    478 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  infidel  assumption  that  Miracles  are  incredible,        485 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  two  theories,  Christian  and  infidel,  ,        ,        497 


PART  I. 

THE  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 


I>A_RT  I. 

THE  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE  OF 
THE  BIBLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMIXAPvY   CONSIDERATIONS. 

The  Bible  clahns  to  be  divinely  inspired.  All 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God  is  the  emphatic 
declaration  of  one  of  its  principal  writers.^  Besides 
this  and  other  declarations  of  similar  import,  we  find 
that  the  writers  of  the  Bible  quote  each  other's  words 
as  having  divine  authority.  Nor  is  the  divine  in- 
spiration, which  the  writers  of  the  Bible  claim  for 
themselves  and  ascribe  to  one  another,  left  a  vague 
uncertainty  as  to  its  extent  and  influence.  *The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  spake  by  me,  and  his  word  was 
in  my  tongue — For  the  prophecy  came  not  of  old 
time  by  the  will  of  man;  but  holy  men  of  God  spake 
as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.'^  The  in- 
spiration thus  claimed  by  the  writers  of  the  Bible  is 
an  influence  from  God  prompting  and  enabling  them 
to  write  as  they  did.  They  assert  that  they  wrote, 
not  according  to  their  own  judgment  or  will,  but  as 
they  were  directed  and  influenced  by  the  Spirit  of 

1 2  Tim.  3 :  IG.        ^2  Sam.  23 :  2.     2  Pet.  1 :  21. 
1  1 


2  LITERA.IIY    EXCELLENCE. 

God.  They  represent  themselves  as  clerks  or  aman- 
uenses, who  wrote  what  God  dictated  to  them,  and 
what  they  knew  to  be  agreeable  to  his  will. 

Such  is  the  inspiration  which  the  Bible  claims  for 
itself.     Is  this  claim  true  or  false? 

This  question  should  not  be  decided  hastily.  For 
many  false  claims  to  divine  inspiration  have  been  set 
up.  All  the  heathen  nations  of  antiquity  of  whom 
we  have  any  knowledge,  believed  in  pretended  reve- 
lations from  heaven.  The  fact  that  the  Bible  claims, 
and  is  generally  believed,  to  be  divinely  inspired, 
does  not  prove  it  to  be  such. 

There  are,  however,  some  things  connected  with 
this  fact,  which  at  least  recommend  the  claim  of  the 
Bible  to  respectful  consideration.  It  is  the  only 
book,  whose  claim  to  divine  inspiration  has  gener- 
ally been  admitted,  and  has  stood  the  test  of  time. 
It  has  been  reverenced  as  the  inspired  word  of  God 
by  the  great  majority,  not  only  of  enlightened  people, 
but  also  of  those  whose  virtues,  talents,  and  learning 
entitle  their  opinions  to  the  highest  regard.  The 
majority  of  the  greatest  scholars,  actors,  and  think- 
ers of  modern  times, — Bacon,  Newton,  and  Locke; 
Shakespeare,  Milton,  Addison,  Cowper,  and  iNIacau- 
lay;  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Knox;  Sir  W.  Jones, 
Grotius,  Pascal,  Buckland  and  Miller;  Hampden, 
Cromwell,  the  Princes  of  Orange,  and  Washington; 
Lord  Hale,  Sir  W.  Blackstone,  Adams,  Hamilton, 
Chief  Justice  Marshall,  Judge  Story,  Chancellor 
Kent,  Lord  Brougham,  and  Daniel  Webster, — the 
greatest  and  best  of  men,  the  master-spirits  of  the 
human  race,  during  eighteen   hundred  years,  have 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  3 

believed  in  the  supernatural  origin  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. It  is  true  that  many  men  of  wit,  learning, 
and  genius, — Voltaire,  Gibbon,  Gothe,  Rousseau, 
Byron,  Humboldt, — have  been  sceptics.  But  such 
men  constitute  a  small  minority  among  those  whom 
the  enlightened  world  esteems  not  only  gifted,  but 
also  great  and  good. 

These  facts  do  not,  indeed,  decide  the  question  in 
regard  to  the  supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. But  they  create  a  presumption  in  favor  of 
such  inspiration.  At  the  least,  whatever  has  stood 
the  test  of  time,  and  has  been  received  and  reverenced 
by  the  great  majority  of  enlightened  people,  and  by 
the  greatest,  best,  and  most  learned  of  mankind  for 
many  centuries,  and  has  been  believed  in  by  every 
nation  that  has  been  made  acquainted  with  it,  ought 
not  to  be  rejected  in  haste,  or  dismissed  with  a  sneer. 

The  presumption  thus  established  in  favor  of  the 
claim  of  the  Bible  to  supernatural  inspiration  is 
strengthened  by  the  failure  of  all  the  efforts  made  to 
falsify  that  claim.  During  eighteen  centuries  the 
opponents  of  the  Bible  have  labored  to  show  that  it 
is  not  of  God.  They  have  endeavored  to  prove  con- 
tradictions and  inaccuracies  in  its  statements.  To 
furnish  themselves  with  evidence  and  arguments, 
they  have  studied  the  contemporaneous  writings  of 
ancient  nations;  have  appealed  to  history,  chronol- 
ogy, astronomy,  geology,  and  other  sciences;  have 
examined  the  hieroglyphics  of  the  Egyptians  and 
the  astronomical  tables  of  the  Chinese  and  the  Plin- 
dus;  have  scanned  the  stars  and  the  milky- way,  and 
ransacked  the  strata  of  the  earth.     But  all  has  been 


4  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

in  vain.  Notwithstanding  the  labors  and  efforts  of 
shrewd  and  learned  infidels,  the  majority  of  scholars 
and  scientific  men, — historians,  chronologists,  astron- 
omers, geologists,  philologists,  and  naturalists, — to- 
gether with  the  majority  of  people  who  live  in  en- 
lightened countries,  still  persist  in  believing  the 
Scriptures  to  have  been  given  by  the  inspiration  of 
the  Almighty. 

Yet,  if  the  Bible  is  not  what  it  claims  to  be,  its 
falsity  is  peculiarly  liable  to  detection  and  exposure. 
It  is  not  a  single  book  written  by  one  man.  It  con- 
tains sixty-six  books,  v/hich  purport  to  have  been 
written  by  nearly  fifty  authors.  These  authors  did 
not  live  at  one  time  or  place.  They  were  scattered 
over  a  period  of  fifteen  hundred  years;  occupied 
diiferent  stations  in  life;  and  differed  widely  in 
character,  g'fts,  learning,  and  other  circumstances. 
They  were  kings,  priests,  statesmen,  warriors,  shep- 
herds, farmers,  fishermen,  poets,  prophets,  apostles, 
learned  men  and  unlearned,  Jews  and  Greeks.  Their 
books  purport  to  have  been  written  under  circum- 
stances the  most  strangely  and  strikingly  diverse, — 
in  the  city  and  in  the  desert;  in  the  palace  and  in  the 
dungeon;  in  the  tented  camp  and  in  the  quiet  dwell- 
ing; in  the  bosom  of  society  and  amid  the  rocks  of 
the  lonely  island ;  at  Jerusalem,  at  Babylon,  at  Rome, 
at  various  j^laces  in  different  countries.  The  books 
are  as  diverse  as  the  characters  and  circumstances 
of  their  authors.  They  contain  poetry,  proverbs, 
proj)hecics,  prayers,  j^recepts,  parables,  orations,  bi- 
ographies, epistles,  sermons,  commentaries,  confes- 
Bions,  ecclesiastical  history,  national  chronicles,  raili- 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIOXS.  5 

tary  annals,  political  statistics,  travels,  laws,  songs, 
descriptions  of  natural  scenery,  accounts  of  the 
creation  and  predictions  of  the  final  destruction  of 
the  earth.  The  Bible,  indeed,  embraces  almost  every 
species  of  composition,  and  treats  of  almost  all  sorts 
of  subjects.  Yet,  in  all  these  books,  varied  and 
diverse  as  they  are,  and  purporting  to  have  been 
written  at  various  times,  and  in  different  places  and 
countries,  and  by  more  than  forty  authors,  who 
occupied  diverse  stations  in  life,  and  whose  united 
lives  stretched  over  a  period  of  fifteen  hundred  years, 
there  is  nothing  which,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
majority  of  intelligent  people  and  learned  men,  in- 
validates their  claim  to  inspiration  and  infallibility. 
In  all  these  books,  which  contain  compositions  of 
almost  every  conceivable  kind  and  form,  and  on 
almost  every  kind  of  subject,  there  is  not  one  state- 
ment, reference,  or  allusion,  which  the  enlightened 
world  regards  as  inconsistent  with  their  claim  to  be 
the  word  of  God.  There  is  nothing  in  the  whole 
book,  varied,  diverse,  and  multiform  as  its  contents 
are,  which,  in  the  judgment  of  mankind,  invalidates 
its  historical  character,  or  convicts  any  of  its  numer- 
ous authors  of  dishonesty  or  mistake.  Though  much 
has  been  said  about  inaccuracies,  discrepancies,  con- 
tradictions, and  other  improprieties  in  the  Bible,  the 
world  remains  unconvinced  of  their  reality.^ 

If  the  Bible  were  not  what  it  purports  to  be, — if 
its  books  were  not  historical ;  if  they  were  not  writ- 
ten at  the  times  they  purport  to  have  been  written, 
and  by  the  persons  whose  names  they  bear;  if  it  con- 

1  See  Part  v,  eh.  4. 
1* 


6  LITERARY    EXCP:LLEXCE. 

tained  blunders  in  language;  if  its  authors  contra- 
dicted one  another;  it  they  contradicted  trustworthy 
contemporary  authors,  or  the  teachings  of  natural 
science;  if,  in  short,  there  were  anything  in  its  lan- 
guage, style,  idiom,  allusions,  statements,  or  teach- 
ings, inconsistent  with  its  claim  to  be  the  inspired 
word  of  God, — most  assuredly  some  critical  sceptic 
would  have  been  able  to  prove  it  to  the  conviction 
of  an  intelligent  world.  No  si)urious  ])roduction 
can  stand  the  test  of  time.  Literary  frauds  are  never 
long  successful.  In  such  attempts  at  fraud,  the 
peculiarities  of  language,  idiom,  and  style;  allusions 
to  contemporary  authors  and  events;  the  kind  of 
ideas  and  sentiments  expressed ;  and  many  other 
circumstances;  ensure  detection,  and  render  con- 
tinued success  impossible.  Pollio,  whose  taste  had 
been  formed  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  detected  the 
inelegant  idiom  of  the  Po  in  the  style  of  Livy. 
Frederick  the  Great,  king  of  Prussia,  after  tryinor  to 
unlearn  his  mother  tongue,  and  after  reading,  speak- 
ing, and  writing  French  for  half  a  century,  could 
not  compose  in  that  language  without  making  ridicu- 
lous mistakes.  Macaulay  asserts  that  Dr.  Hobert- 
son's  Dissertations  on  India,  and  Sir  Walter  Scott's 
Waverley  and  Marmion,  contain  Scotticisms  at  which 
a  London  ai)prentice  would  laugh.  Such  facts  as 
these  demonstrate  the  impossibility  of  ultimate  suc- 
cess in  literary  imposture.  But  the  Bible  has  stood 
the  test  of  time.  It  has  resisted  the  assaults  of  its 
enemies  for  eighteen  hundred  years.  Though  his- 
tory, astronomy,  geology,  philology,  and  criticism 
have  all  been  employed  against  it,  yet  the  judgment 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  7 

of  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  intelligent  and 
learned,  and  good  and  great,  has  ever  been,  that  it  is 
what  it  claims  to  be;  and  that  its  language,  style, 
and  thoughts  prove  it  to  be  the  work  of  Almighty 
God.  Since  success  in  literary  imposture  is  impos- 
sible,— since  one  man  cannot  successfully  counterfeit, 
imitate,  or  plagiarize  the  works  of  another, — how 
could  any  man  or  set  of  men  successfully  counterfeit 
or  imitate  the  language,  style,  and  thoughts  of  the 
Almighty? 

The  reception  which  this  book,  or  rather  these 
books,  have  met  with,  and  the  esteem  and  reverence 
with  which,  notwithstanding  the  learned  and  labored 
efforts  of  opposing  infidels,  they  have  ever  been  re- 
garded, appear  still  more  remarkable,  when  we  con- 
sider the  character  of  the  people  among  whom  they 
originated.  We  dq  not  admit  that  the  Jews  were  as 
rude  and  debased  as  some  authors,  desirous  of  setting 
aside  the  divine  inspiration  and  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  have  represented  them.  Gibbon  describes 
them  as  an  obscure,  unsocial,  obstinate,  ungrateful, 
and  selfish  race,  who  for  many  ages  were  the  most 
despised  portion  of  the  slaves  of  the  Assyrians  and 
Persians.^  Voltaire  declares  that  the  Jews  are  both 
our  teachers  and  our  enemies,  whom  we  believe  and 
detest  at  the  same  time;  that  the  Arabs,  their  kins- 
men, have  been  infinitely  more  favored  by  God,  and 
have  prodigiously  surpassed  them  even  as  robbers.^ 
The  design  of  these  writers  in  such  representations 
is  very  evident.  But  the  Jews  certainly  were  not 
a  superior  race.  According  to  their  own  writers, 
1  Ch.  1,  sect.  15.         2  pijii^  Diet.,  Art.  Abraham. 


8  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

they  were  originally  a  nation  of  slaves,  and  of  course 
endured  all  the  inevitable  consequences  of  slavery; 
among  which  are,  ignorance  and  barbarism.  For 
ages  they  were  rude  and  uncultivated.  They  never 
did  become  a  refined,  literary  people.  They  had  no 
Academy  or  Lyceum.  Their  only  institutions  of 
learning  were  their  schools  of  the  prophets.  Their 
only  poets  were  their  seers.  Oratory,  painting,  and 
sculpture,  were  almost  unknown  among  them.  Their 
own  literature  consisted  almost  exclusively  in  their 
religious  writings;  and  of  foreign  literature  they 
were  almost  entirely  ignorant.  They  occupied  a 
small  portion  of  territory,  about  120  miles  long  and 
60  broad ;  less  in  extent  than  one-fourth  of  the  state 
of  Ohio;  hemmed  in  between  the  desert  and  the  east- 
ern end  of  the  Mediterranean  sea.  They  were  a 
nation  of  farmers;  had  scarcely  any  foreign  com- 
merce; and  were  almost  entirely  secluded  from  the 
rest  of  mankind.  Yet  among  these  peo})lc, — for- 
merly a  nation  of  slaves,  rude  and  uncultivated, 
without  literary  institutions,  without  the  sciences  and 
the  fine  arts,  without  philosophers  and  literary  men, 
without  foreign  commerce,  and  cut  off  from  the  sur- 
rounding nations, — among  these  people  originated  a 
literature  consisting  of  sixty-six  books,  treating  of 
or  alluding  to  almost  every  conceivable  subject,  and 
containing  almost  every  species  and  form  of  writing, 
composed  in  two  languages,  and  j)urporting  to  have 
been  written  at  different  times  and  at  various  i)laces, 
in  different  countries,  and  by  a^out  fifty  authors, 
who  occupied  almost  every  station  in  life,  from  the 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  9 

highest  to  the  lowest,  and  the  earliest  and  latest  of 
whom  lived  at  periods  separated  by  an  interval  of 
more  than  fifteen  centuries;  yet  these  books,  claim- 
ing to  be  a  revelation  from  heaven,  and  an  infallible 
guide  in  religion  and  morals,  though  attacked  as  no 
other  books  have  ever  been,  though  their  language, 
style,  statements,  allusions,  and  doctrines  have  been 
examined  and  criticized  in  the  light  of  history, 
philology,  astronomy,  geology,  and  other  sciences, 
are  yet  regarded  by  a  vast  majority  of  the  good  and 
intelligent  and  learned  as  having  been  written  by 
men  who  were  guided  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Al- 
mighty. 

If  this  judgment  of  the  overwhelming  majority 
of  the  enlightened  and  learned  who  have  lived  during 
eighteen  centuries  be  not  correct,  then  have  the  He- 
brew writers  perpetrated  the  most  stupendous  impos- 
ture the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  in  literary  skill 
and  cunning  have  surpassed  all  the  rest  of  mankind. 
Or,  if  their  honesty  is  admitted,  as  it  now  generally 
is,  the  conclusion  must  be,  that  Avithout  design  or 
agreement,  in  their  unconsciousness  and  simplicity, 
the  authors  of  the  Bible  have  done  what  all  the  genius, 
learning,  skill,  and  cunning  of  the  world  could  not 
do, — deceived  the  majority  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  learned  of  mankind  durins;  centuries  and  as^es. 
In  either  case,  this  long-continued  deception  of  man- 
kind is  unparalleled  and  unaccountable;  and  the 
book  itself  is  a  miracle  of  imposture. 

Vie  do  not  say,  by  any  means,  that  these  facts  and 
considerations  are  conclusive  evidence  of  the  miracu- 


10  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

lous  inspiration  of  the  authors  of  the  Bible.  But 
they  constitute  presumptive  evidence;  and  may  serve 
to  rebuke,  though  scarcely  to  repress,  the  assuming, 
patronizing,  dogmatic  spirit  and  air  so  often  mani- 
fested by  the  advocates  of  infidelity. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FREEDOM   OF   THE   BIBLE   FROM    ABSURDITY. 

The  Bible  is  distinsruislied  from  all  the  other 
writings  of  antiquity  by  its  freedom  from  absurdity. 
Though  it  abounds  in  the  most  sublime  poetry  and 
eloquence,  it  is  uniformly  sober,  reasonable,  and 
truth-like.  It,  indeed,  deals  largely  in  the  super- 
natural and  the  marvelous.  It  claims  to  be  itself 
a  supernatural  production.  But  the  supernatural 
and  marvelous,  of  which  the  Bible  treats,  contain 
nothing  monstrous,  ridiculous,  or  childish.  In  it 
are  found  none  of  the  exaggerations  nor  puerilities 
which  abound  in  all  the  ancient  literatures.  It  tells 
us  of  no  garden  of  the  Hesperides,  producing  appj^s 
of  gold,  and  guarded  by  a  dragon  with  a  hundred 
heads;  no  monster  Centaurs,  half-man  and  half-horse; 
no  huge  Cyclops,  gigantic,  one-eyed  men,  feeding  on 
iiuman  flesh ;  no  Goro-ons  havino^  heads  adorned  with 
serpents  instead  of  hair,  mouths  armed  with  teeth 
like  boar's  tusks,  and  eyes  that  turned  all  beholders 
into  stones;  no  hydras,  griffins,  pigmies,  or  other 
monsters  which  figure  so  largely  in  the  history  and 
poetry  of  antiquity. 

1.  The  Egyptians  were  the  most  cultivated  people 
of  early  antiquity.  Egypt  was  the  cradle  of  civili- 
zation, the  nursery  of  science  and  philosophy.  To 
Egypt,  as  to  a  university,  resorted  the  most  distiur 
guished  men  of  other  countries, — historians,  legisla- 

U 


12  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

tors,  philosophers,  mathematicians,  and  physicians, — 
to  learn  the  arts,  the  sciences,  philosophy,  and  law. 
The  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians  is  often  mentioned  in 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 

But  famous  as  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  for  their 
learning  and  wisdom,  their  literature  was  disfigured 
and  degraded  by  many  ridiculous  fancies.  They 
held  an  absurd  system  of  astrology.  By  this  pre- 
tended science,  their  wise  men  claimed  that  they 
could  foretell  pestilences,  earthquakes,  inundations, 
the  appearance  of  comets,  and  years  of  plenty  and 
scarceness.  Their  belief  was,  that  some  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  planets  are  beneficial,  others  injurious; 
and  they  pretended  to  assign  the  influence  which 
the  day  of  an  individual's  birth  would  have  upon 
his  character  and  fortunes.  The  human  body  was 
divided  by  them  into  thirty-six  parts  corresponding 
t(f  the  divisions  of  the  zodiac,  and  under  their  in- 
fluence a  god  or  demon  was  supposed  to  preside  over 
each  part.  The  opinion  that  the  heavenly  bodies 
have  an  influence,  according  to  their  position  in  the 
heavens,  on  the  different  parts  of  the  human  body, 
interfered  with  the  practice  of  medicine.  Thus  the 
medical  art  among  the  Egyptians  became  contami- 
nated w^ith  their  astrological  absurdities.  The  belief 
was  prevalent  among  them,  that  even  the  soul  of  a 
man  enters  into  life  through  one  of  the  twelve  signs 
of  the  zodiac;  the  first  six  being  favorable,  the  re- 
maining six  unfavorable.^  Though  they  observed 
and  noted  all  remarkable  phenomena,  they  took 
account  of  them  only  as  prodigies.^     The  tendency 

'  Kemick,  vol.  1,  p.  287-292.        ^He^od.  2:  82. 


FREEDOM    FROM   ABSURDITY.  13 

among  them  to  mingle  fancy  with  science,  is  ilhis- 
trated  by  the  chronological  fable  of  the  bird  phoenix, 
which  was  supposed  to  visit  the  temple  of  the  sua 
at  Heliopolis  at  the  termination  of  certain  regular 
periods  of  time,  carrying  the  body  of  its  deceased 
parent  enclosed  in  myrrh.^  The  doctrine  of  the 
transmigration  of  souls  was  a  part  of  their  system  of 
belief;  if  system  they  had  at  all.  They  thought 
that  when  a  man  dies,  his  soul  enters  some  other 
animal;  and  that,  after  having  inhabited  every  spe- 
cies of  beast  and  bird,  it  finally  enters  a  human  body 
a  second  time.  They  affirmed  that  it  completes  this 
succession  of  changes  in  the  period  of  three  thousand 
years.^ 

Such  are  some  of  the  fanciful  and  absurd  notions 
which  prevailed  among  the  learned  men  of  the  most 
cultivated  nation  of  early  antiquity.  All  the  knowl- 
edge of  Egyptian  literature  which  we  possess  is  de- 
rived from  pyramids,  tombs,  mummies,  hieroglyphic 
inscriptions,  and  the  hints  of  foreign  authors.  These 
are  to  us  the  only  monuments  of  Egyptian  learning. 
Still,  we  know  enough  to  be  assured,  that  had  not 
their  book-literature  perished,  we  would  find  it 
characterized  throughout  by  puerility  and  folly. 

2.  The  literature  of  the  ancient  Hindus  also 
abounds  with  absurdities.  Nothing  can  be  more 
absurd  than  their  cosmogony  and  geography.  Ac- 
cording to  their  books,  the  world  was  hatched  from 
an  eggy  from  which  after  an  incubation  of  millions 
and  millions  of  years,  Brahma,  who  includes  in  him- 
self all  things,  and  is  the  universe,  sprang  forth, 

1  Herod.  2:  73.    Tac.  An.  6:  28.         *  Herod.  2:  123. 
2 


14  LITERARY   EXCELLEXCF:. 

having  a  thousand  heads,  a  thousand  eyes,  and  a 
thousand  arms.  According  to  the  Hindu  geograph- 
ers, the  earth  is  a  flat,  circular  plain,  measuring 
hundreds  of  millions  of  miles  in  circumference;  the 
habitable  part  consisting  of  seven  islands,  each  sur- 
rounded by  an  ocean;  the  first  ocean  consisting  of 
salt  water,  the  second  of  the  juice  of  the  sugar  cane, 
the  third  of  spirituous  liquor,  the  fourth  of  clarified 
butter,  the  fifth  of  sour  milk,  the  sixth  of  sweet  milk, 
and  the  seventh  of  sweet  water ;  the  whole  restinor 
upon  an  enormous  snake  with  a  hundred  heads,  and 
the  snake  upon  a  tortoise. 

The  VedaSj  the  oldest  portion  of  the  Hindu  litera- 
ture, contain  many  things  both  foolish  and  indecent. 
The  literary  character  of  these  ancient  hymns  may 
be  inferred  from  the  subjects  of  which  they  treat. 
In  some  of  them  the  hawk,  the  partridge,  the  mortar 
and  the  pestle,  and  even  the  wheelbarrow,  are  the 
subjects  of  laudation.  Iii  one  a  gambler  complains 
of  his  ill  luck;  in  another,  we  find  a  loose  conversa- 
tion between  a  man  and  his  wife;  and  in  another,  an 
address  to  food,  seemingly  composed  by  a  hungry 
glutton.^  A  distinguished  Hindu  scholar  declares, 
that  large  numbers  of  the  vedic  hymns  are  childish 
in  the  extreme;  and  that  though  this  part  of  Hindu 
literature  contains  but  little  that  is  bad,  it  contains 
a  great  deal  that  is  foolish.^  Of  the  Brahmanas,  the 
same  distinguished  scholar  says,  that  for  pedantry 
and  downright  absurdity  they  are  scarcely  paralleled. 
His  own  words  are,  ^The  general  character  of  these 

^  Wilson's  An.  Ilindu  Hymns,  ^^ax  Muller's  Chips  from 
a  German  Workshop  ,vol.  1,  pp.  26,  37. 


FREEDOM    FROM    ABSURDITY.  15 

works  is  marked  by  shallow  and  insipid  grandilo- 
quence, priestly  conceit,  and  antiquarian  pedantry.'^ 
The  writincrs  of  the  Buddhists  abound  with  errors 
equally  wild  and  absurd.  Their  cosmography  is  as 
follows:  There  are  innumerable  worlds,  each  world 
having  its  own  earth,  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  Each 
world  has  an  earth,  with  its  oceans,  continents, 
islands,  and  a  mountain  in  the  center.  Each  earth 
has  four  continents,  the  inhabitants  of  which  have 
the  same  shape  as  the  continent  in  which  they  are 
born.  The  first  continent  has  a  shape  like  a  square 
seat,  and  its  inhabitants  have  square  faces.  The 
second  is  like  a  half  moon,  and  its  inhabitants  have 
faces  like  half  moons.  The  third  is  like  a  round 
mirror;  and  the  fourth  is  triangular.  At  the  base 
of  each  world  the  air  is  9600  miles  in  thickness; 
above  this  is  the  water  4,800,000  miles*  in  thick- 
ness; and  above  the  water  is  the  great  earth  2,400,000 
miles  in  thickness.  In  the  center  of  the  earth  is  a 
mountain  1,680,000  miles  high,  from  the  summit  of 
which  a  stone  would  be  four  months  in  falling  to 
the  earth.  The  square-faced  inhabitants  of  the  first 
continent  are  never  sick,  and,  though  they  live  a 
thousand  years,  they  never  appear  to  be  more  than 
sixteen  years  old.  They  obtain  their  food  and 
clothes  from  a  tree  which  grows  to  the  height  of 
1000  miles.2 

^  His.  of  An.  Sanscrit  Literature,  p.  389, 

*  Yojanas.  The  length  of  the  yojana  is  estimated  at  from 
4}  to  16  miles.  For  convenience  we  assume  10  miles  as  its 
length. 

'  Hardy's  Manual  of  Buddhism,  pp.  1-15. 


16  LITERARY   FXCELLENCE. 

Such  are  some  of  the  vagaries  of  Buddhism;  which 
is  an  off-shoot  of  Hindu  philosophy,  and  is  of  a  piece 
with  the  more  ancient  and  the  orthodox  Hinduism. 
Wild,  extravagant,  and  ridiculous  as  are  the  theories 
and  speculations  of  the  Buddhists,  they  are  not  more 
so  than  those  of  the  Hindu  philosophers;  who  repre- 
sent the  duration  of  human  life  in  the  first  period  of 
the  world's  existence  as  100,000  years,  and  human 
stature  as  37  feet;  who  describe  heroes  with  10  or  12 
faces  and  15  or  20  arms,  and  tell  of  tens  of  thousands 
of  sons  begotten  of  one  man.^ 

Yet  the  ancient  Hindus  were  a  cultivated  and 
literary  people.  They  attained  to  a  high  degree  of 
civilization.  Their  language  was  remarkable  for  the 
beauty  and  perfection  of  its  structure,  and  is  regard- 
ed as  the  most  polished  and  copious  language  ever 
spoken  by  men.  Their  learned  men  assiduously 
cultivated  poetry,  astronomy,  j)hilosophy,  and  the- 
ology. But  notwithstanding  their  advancement  in 
civilization  and  refinement,  and  their  employment  of 
a  language  unequaled  for  beauty  and  copiousness, 
their  literature — the  product  of  their  most  gifted 
and  learned  men — abounds  in  the  wildest  fancies, 
and  the  most  ridiculous  exao^srerations  and  blunders. 

3.  The  literature  of  the  ancient  Persians,  in  the 
respect  just  mentioned,  was  little  better  than  that  of 
the  Hindus.  The  fable  of  the  original  bull,  who 
was  killed  by  the  devil-god  Ahriman,  and  whose 
soul  after  death  went  to  heaven,  and  out  of  whose 
body  useful  kinds  of  grain  were  formed,  is  an  illus- 
*  Allen's  India,  pp.  19-20.    Ward,  vol.  1,  pp.  17-18. 


FREEDOM    FEOM    ABSURDITY.  17 

tration.^  Equally  absurd  is  the  fabulous  account  of 
the  sea  of  Vouru  Kasha,  with  the  three-legged  ass 
standing  in  the  middle.^  AYe  have  another  specimen 
of  absurdity  in  the  account  of  a  fabulous  water-ani- 
mal, said  to  be  produced  from  a  thousand  male  and 
a  thousand  female  dogs,  and  for  the  killing  of  which 
so  great  a  punishment  was  denounced.^  Many  of 
tlie  prescriptions  for  purification,  and  of  the  enact- 
ments for  the  puaishment  of  moral  and  ceremonial 
transgressions,  that  are  contained  in  the  books  as- 
cribed to  Zoroaster,  as  we  will  hereafter  show,^  are 
grotesque  and  ridiculous.  !N^or  do  these  old  Persian 
books  possess  any  literary  excellence  to  atone  for 
their  childishness  and  folly. 

4.  Fables,  fancies,  and  blunders  characterize  also 
the  ancient  Chinese  literature.  Confucius,  who  flour- 
ished in  the  sixth  century  before  Christ,  was  the  great 
literary  man  of  the  Chinese;  and  it  has  generally 
been  supposed  that  he  was  a  man  of  genius,  and  that 
his  productions  were  characterized  by  originality  and 
literary  merit.  But  the  recent  publications  of  Dr. 
L'egge  do  not  justify  the  exalted  opinion  of  Confucius 
and  his  teachings,  Avhich  many  have  heretofore  enter- 
tained. His  literary  remains  are  generally  common- 
place, and  often  puerile.  The  so-called  philosopher 
was  frequently  a  driveler.  He  believed  and  endorsed 
the  fable  of  the  Fung  bird,  which  was  said  to  appear 
only  when  a  sage  ascended  the  throne,  or  when 
right  principles  were  about  to  prevail  through  the 
empire.     He  also  believed  and  endorsed  the  fable  of 

^Yacna,  1:  6  (Spigol's  German  translation).  '^Vispered, 
8:  18,  20.        ^Yeiididad,  14:  1-4.        *  Part  II.  ch.  3. 

2* 


18  LITERARY   EXCELLEXCE. 

a  monster  with  the  head  of  a  dragon  and  the  body 
of  a  horse,  said  to  have  arisen  from  the  water,  and 
by  the  marks  on  his  back  to  have  given  to  Fah-he, 
the  lirst  of  the  sages,  the  idea  of  diagrams  and  maps.^ 
His  geographical  ideas  were  absurd.  He  regarded 
China  as  indeed  the  ^Middle  Kingdom,'  and  as  *  All 
under  heaven;'  and  thought  that  beyond  it  were 
only  rude  and  barbarous  tribes.^  These  and  other 
absurd  notions  characterize  the  anci*jnt  Chinese  liter- 
ature throughout.  Williams  in  his  3IldcUe  Kingdom 
remarks,  that  the  ancient  Chinese  were  characterized 
by  the  appetite  for  wonders  which  marks  the  infancy 
of  nations  as  well  as  of  individuals;  and  that  their 
early  national  vanity  and  love  of  the  marvelous 
furnished  materials  for  many  tales  in  succeeding 
times.^  Confucius  accepted  his  country's  literature 
as  he  found  it.  He  was  not  an  original  thinker, 
nor  an  innovator.  He  said  of  himself,  ^I  am  one 
who  is  fond  of  antiquity — a  transmitter,  and  not  a 
maker;  believing  in  and  loving  the  ancients.'  Dr. 
Legge  says;  ^emphatically  he  was  a  transmitter  and 
not  a  maker;  not  a  great  man,  nor  before  his  age.'* 
Hence  the  narrowness  of  his  views:  his  national  pre- 
judices, and  his  absurd  notions,  are  to  be  traced  to  his 
country's  literature,  which  he  studied  and  loved. 

A  few  years  ago,  a  periodical  which  persistently 
opposes  the  supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Bible, 
represented  Confucius,  in  accordance  with  the  pre- 
vailing opinion  concerning  him,  as  being  a  very  great 
and  learned  man;  as  teaching  a  philosophic  creed; 

^Legge's  Conf.,  pp.  95-^,  104.  ^p.  i09.  ^Vol.  2,  p.  194. 
*pp.  95—6,  114. 


FREEDOM  FROM  ABSURDITY.         19 

announcing  only  common -pi  ace  truths  to  the  multi- 
tude, but  reserving  his  abstruse  doctrines  for  sages 
and  the  learned.  But  after  the  publications  of  Dr. 
Legge  had  been  given  to  the  world,  the  same  peri- 
odical represented  Confucius  and  the  Chinese  litera- 
ture as  objects  of  contempt.  *  The  things  recorded  of 
him  are  very  small,  but  we  must  remember  the  lit- 
tleness of  the  Chinese  mind.  *  *  *  * 
The  moral,  social,  and  political  precepts  of  Confucius 
are  perfectly  childish  in  comparison  of  Greek  ethics 
or  Hebrew  proverbs.'^ 

5.  The  literature  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  was 
])v  no  means  free  from  absurd  vagaries  and  blunders. 
Their  poets  employed  the  fables  and  talcs  current 
among  the  multitude  to  adorn  and  popularize  their 
productions;  but  many  unreasonable  and  nonsensical 
things  were  asserted  even  by  their  historians  and 
poets.  Herodotus  records  many  absurd  fables  and 
stories  as  veritable  history.  His  observations  con- 
cerning natural  phenomena  are  often  only  wild  con- 
jectures. For  instance,  in  accounting  for  the  over- 
flowing of  the  river  Nile  in  summer,  he  asserts  that 
in  winter  the  sun,  driven  by  storms  from  his  usual 
course,  ascends  into  the  higher  regions  of  the  air 
above  Libya,  and  dries  up  the  waters  of  the  upper 
Nile;  so  that  their  diminished  volume,  when  it 
reaches  lower  Egypt,  is  retained  within  the  banks.^ 
Thales,  first  named  one  of  the  seven  wise  men  of 
Greece,  declared  that  the  cause  of  the  overflowino;  of 

^  Westminster  Review,  April,  1857,  p.  302.  Oct.  1867,  p. 
254.        2  Her.  2:  24-6. 


20  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

the  Nile  was,  that  Its  waters  were  driven  back  by 
the  Etesian  winds.^  Cleanthes  thoug^ht  that  the  sun 
is  nourished  by  the  vapors  of  the  ocean.^  Cicero 
represents  one  of  his  interlocutors  as  maintaining, 
that  the  stars  are  animated  divine  beings,  and  are 
fed  by  the  vapors,  which  ascend  from  the  earth  and 
the  sea,  and  which  are  purified  by  their  long  passage 
to  the  heavens.^  Anaxagoras  declared  the  sun  to  be 
a  mass  of  burning  iron,  larger  than  Peloponnesus. 
He  accounted  for  aerolites  by  asserting  that  the 
whole  heaven  is  composed  of  stones,  which  are  held 
together  by  its  rapid  revolutions;  and  that  when 
these  revolutions  become  less  rapid,  the  stones  fall.^ 
In  one  of  Cicero's  works,  it  is  asserted  that  the  heart 
is  employed  as  well  as  the  lungs  in  respiration,  and 
that  by  one  of  its  ventricles  the  breath  is  communi- 
cated through  the  arteries.^  Tacitus,  the  Roman 
historian,  records  the  arrival  of  the  fabulous  phoenix 
in  Egypt  in  the  consulship  of  Paulus  Fabius  and 
Lucius  Vitellius.  He  declares  the  accounts  of  this 
bird  not,  indeed,  to  be  entitled  to  unqualified  credit; 
but  he  records  its  arrival  as  an  actual  event  worthy 
of  the  attention  of  his  readers.*"  Socrates  maintained 
the  absurd  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls. 
His  theory  was,  that  after  death  they  inhabit  the 
bodies  of  beasts,  birds,  and  insects;  that  such  as  have 
})ractised  gluttony  and  wantonness  enter  into  the 
bodies  of  asses  and  similar  brutes;  such  as  have 
practised  oppression  and  injustice,  into  the  bodies  of 
wolves,  hawks,  and  kites;  and  the  just  and  temper- 

^Diog.  Laer.  9.        ""Do  Nat.  Deor.  2:  15.      ^2:  15,  46. 
*Diog.  Laer.  4,  8.     "  De  Nat.  Deor.  2:  54-5.    '^xVnual.  6:  28. 


FREEDOM   FROM   ABSURDITY.  21 

ate,  into  bees,  wasps,  or  ants,  or  perhaps  into  human 
bodies  again.^  This  celebrated  philosopher  also 
thought,  that  what  men  call  the  earth  is  only  a  great 
hollow;  that  on  the  earth  are  many  hollows  about 
which  men  live,  as  frogs  about  a  marsh;  and,  that 
the  true  earth  is  in  the  heavens  among  the  stars,  as 
men  would  see  if  they  could  only  fly  up  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  air.^  It  is  but  just,  however,  to  remember, 
that  the  opinions  of  Socrates  are  known  to  us  mainly 
through  the  writings  of  Plato;  who  may  not  have 
reported  them  in  all  respects  correctly.  It  is  certain 
however,  that  Plato  held  the  absurd  notions  and  doc- 
trines which  he  ascribes  to  his  master.  For  some  of 
his  opinions,  this  so-called  prince  of  philosophers 
was,  doubtless,  indebted  to  the  Egyptians,  whose 
country  he  visited,  and  among  whom  he  studied. 
He  adopted  their  doctrine  of  metempsychosis.  He 
tauirht  that  timid  and  unjust  men  are  in  their  second 
generation  changed  into  women;  the  light-minded 
and  curious  into  featliered  birds;  men  who  make  no 
use  of  philosophy,  into  quadruped  and  multiped 
wild  beasts;  and  the  most  ignorant  and  unthinking, 
into  fishes,  water  snakes,  and  oysters.^  He  described 
the  world  as  an  eternal  animal  and  a  blessed  god. 
He  ascribed  soul  and  intellect  not  only  to  the  earth, 
but  also  to  the  sun,  to  every  star,  and  to  every  large 
body.  According  to  his  account,  the  soul  of  the 
world  is  composed  of  three  ingredients,  soAne,  differ- 
ent^ and  essence,  divided  and  subdivided  into  minute 
parts,  and  then  classified  and  united  in  certain  pro- 
portions. He  declares  that  the  world  was  made 
1  Phsedo,  70-71.     '  133-5.        » ximceus,  72-3. 


22  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

without  eyes  or  ears,  because  there  was  nothing  ex- 
ternal for  it  to  see  or  hear;  and  that  it  was  madQ 
without  legs  and  feet,  because  it  could  move  six  or 
seven  ways  without  them.^  Aristotle  taught  that 
the  stars  have  animal  life  and  activity;^  that  they 
are  eternal  substances  animated  by  divinities,  as  the 
body  by  the  soul  -^  and  that  they  generate  heat  and 
light  by  rubbing  against  the  air.*  One  reason  as- 
signed by  him  for  believing  that  the  stars  are  in  shape 
spheroidal  is,  that  spheres  have  no  organs  of  motion.^ 

6.  The  Arabic  literature  also  contains  many  ridic- 
ulous blunders  and  exaggerations.  The  Koran,  which 
is  the  highest  literary  as  well  as  theological  achieve- 
ment of  the  Arabic  mind,  speaks  of  a  man  following 
after  the  sun  in  his  course  until  he  found  it  to  set  in 
a  spring  of  black  mud.®  Not  among  the  least  of 
the  absurd  things  contained  in  the  Koran  is,  the 
account  of  the  young  men  and  their  dog  sleeping  in 
a  cave  three  hundred  and  nine  years.^  It  contains 
many  other  absurdities,  such  as,  that  the  Almighty 
placed  mountains  on  the  earth  to  hold  it  still  ;^  that 
He  transformed  some  of  the  disobedient  Jews  into 
apes  and  svvine;^  that  Moses,  in  anger  at  Aaron  for 
making  the  golden  calf,  seized  him  and  dragged  him 
along  by  the  hair  of  his  hcad;^*^  that  Jesus  Christ, 
while  an  infant,  addressed  men  in  articulate  speech, 
and  made  a  living  bird  out  of  clay;^^  and  that  Satan 

lEpinomis,  6.      Tim.  11-14,  18.      ^De  Coelo,  2:  12. 
»  Metaphys.  11:8.  *  De  Coelo,  2:7.     ^  2  :  12. 

«  Koran  (Sale's  trans.)  ch.  18.     'ch.  18.     »  ch.  31. 
»ch,  2,5,  7.     ^<^ch.7.     ^^  ch.  7. 


FREEDOM   FROM   ABSURDITY.  23 

is  to  be  driven  away  from  men  with  stones.^  Gib- 
«bon,  who  seems  to  have  admired  the  character  and 
career  of  Mohammed,  describes  the  Koran  as  an  end- 
less, incoherent  rhapsody  of  fable,  precept,  and  dec- 
lamation, which  sometimes  crawls  in  the  dust  and  is 
sometimes  lost  in  the  clouds.^  Carlyle  expresses  his 
opinion  of  it,  in  characteristic  style,  as  follows;  ^I 
must  say,  it  is  as  toilsome  reading  as  I  ever  under- 
took. A  wearisome,  confused  jumble,  crude,  incon- 
dite; endless  iterations,  long-windedness,  entangle- 
ment; most  crude,  incondite; — insupportable  stupid- 
ity, in  short.^^ 

Such  is  the  literary  character  of  the  Koran.  But 
if  any  one  wishes  to  have  a  full  view  of  the  fables, 
fancies,  and  absurdities  in  which  the  Arabic  mind 
expatiated  and  delighted,  let  him  read  the  Arabian 
Nights^  Entertahwients. 

7.  The  Avritings  of  the  Hebrews,  except  those  con- 
tained in  the  Bible,  are  characterized  by  absurdities 
and  blunders  similar  to  those  which  abound  in  the 
writings  of  other  nations.  Josephus,  though  a  man 
of  sense  and  learning,  asserts  many  absurd  and  im- 
possible things  ;  such  as,  that  the  river  which 
watered  the  garden  of  Eden  flowed  round  the  whole 
earth;  that  the  lower  animals  originally  possessed 
the  faculty  of  articulate  speech,  and  used  the  lan- 
guage of  men;  and  that  serpents  were  created  with 
feet,  on  which  they  walked  upright.*  From  the 
Talmud,  however,  it  is  most  clearly  seen  in  what 
puerilities  and  monstrosities  the  Jewish  mind,  out- 

'  Chs.  15,  16.  2  Decl.  and  Fall,  ch.  50. 

^  Hero-worship,  p.  58.         *  Antiq.  of  the  Jews,  1  :  1. 


24  IJTERARY    EXCELLEXCE. 

side  of  the  canonical  Scriptures,  rioted  and  reveled. 
It  tells  of  things  most  incredibly  and  ludicrously 
extravagant  and  enormous ; — of  a  cock,  that  with 
his  feet  on  the  ground,  touched  the  heavens  with  his 
head  ;  of  a  kid  as  large  as  mount  Tabor;  of  a  man 
(Og,  king  of  Bashan),  whose  hip-bone  was  more 
than  tliree  miles  long;  of  a  man  who  ate  three  hun- 
dred calves  and  drank  three  hundred  measures  of 
wine  for  a  lunch  only  ;  of  a  fish  with  embankments 
of  sand  and  with  growing  rushes  on  its  back,  and 
on  which  a  ship's  crew  landed  and  cooked  provisions, 
not  discovering  their  mistake  until  the  heat  of  their 
fire  caused  the  monster  to  dive;  of  a  fish,  wliich, 
when  cast  ashore,  threw  down  sixty  villages,  which 
sixty  other  villages  ate  of,  which  sixty  other  villages 
salted  of,  the  fat  of  one  of  whose  eyes  filled  three 
hundred  barrels,  and  the  bones  of  which  were  after- 
ward employed  as  materials  in  rebuilding  the  villages 
which  had  been  thrown  down;  and  of  many  other 
things  equally  monstrous  and  absurd. 

8.  In  nothinor  were  ancient  writers  more  absurd 

o 

than  in  chronolo2:v.  Desirous  of  availing^  themselves 
of  the  veneration  for  antiqaity  prevalent  among  man- 
kind, they  set  up  for  their  national  origin,  religion, 
and  literature  the  most  extravagant  claims. 

The  Egyptian  chronology  is  confused  and  contra- 
dictory. According  to  Lepsius,  it  embraces  21,903 
years,  including  the  fabulous,  un historic,  and  his- 
toric periods.  According  to  Herodotus,  who  received 
his  information  from  the  most  learned  of  the  Egyp- 


FREEDOM    FROM    ABSURDITY.  25 

tians,  their  native  monarchy  continued  11,340  years.'^ 
But  according  to  the  Egyptian  account,  the  dynasties 
of  men  were  preceded  by  the  reign  of  gods  and  demi- 
gods. Lepsius  makes  the  period  of  the  gods,  13,870 
years;  of  demi-gods,  3,650;  and  of  man,  4,383. 
Manetlio,  as  related  by  Africanus  and  Eusebius, 
makes  the  period  of  the  gods  and  demi-gods  togeth- 
er, 24,000  years.  According  to  an  Old  Chronicle 
quoted  by  Syncellus,  the  reign  of  gods  and  demi- 
gods continued  36,525  years,  which  would  make  25 
periods  of  1461  years  each.  The  time  allotted  to  the 
beast-god.  Apis,  was  25  years.  The  fable  of  the 
phoenix,  which,  as  some  affirmed,  lived  1461  years, 
or  as  others  affirmed  500  (this  latter  period  was 
probably  obtained  by  dividing  1461  or  in  round 
numbers  1500  into  three  equal  periods),  was  doubt- 
less originally  designed  to  symbolize  these  25  periods 
of  1461  years,  making  together  a  period  of  36,525 
years,  the  supposed  duration  of  gods  and  demi-gods. 
Thus  Egyptian  chronology  is  founded  on  fiction  and 
fable.  Ken  rick  remarks  that  to  these  dynasties  of 
gods  and  demi-gods  ^  were  arbitrarily  assigned  long 
periods  of  domination.'^ 

The  Hindus  are  still  more  extravagant  in  their 
claims  to  antiquity.  Their  chronology  as  contained 
in  their  sacred  books  consists  of  four  periods,  which 
together  make  four  millions,  three  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  years.  The  Hindu  Avriters  refer  to 
still  longer  periods,  declaring  a  kalpa,  or  one  day  of 

^  2 :  142.  2  Lepsius'  Letters  from  Egypt,  p.  496.  Herod. 
2:  142.  Kenrick's  An.  Egyp.,  vol.  2,  p.  77-8.  Tac.  An. 
6:  28. 


26  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

Brahm,  to  consist  of  four  billions,  three  hundred  and 
twenty  millions  of  years;  a  period  equal  to  seven 
hupdred  and  twenty  thousand  times  the  supposed 
duration  of  man  on  the  earth.  They  boast  also  that 
there  never  was  a  time  when  their  Vedas  did  not  ex- 
ist, and  that  they  are  as  old  as  the  universe  it^lf.^ 

The  Chinese  also  exceed  the  truth  in  boasting  of 
their  antiquity.  Their  early  history  is  mythological, 
and  is  the  production  of  subsequent  times.  To  this 
mythological  period  a  very  remote  antiquity  was 
assigned,  and  is  sometimes  yet.^  The  sceptical  Bo- 
lingbroke  asserts,  that  according  to  the  chronology 
of  the  Chinese,  the  table  of  Fohi  is  nine  or  ten  cen- 
turies older  than  Adam.^ 

The  Grecians  also  set  up  extravagant  claims  to 
antiquity.  The  Athenians  boasted  that  they  sprang 
from  the  soil  which  they  inhabited,  and  that  they 
were  as  old  as  the  sun.  In  token  of  their  springing 
out  of  the  soil  as  grasshoppers  were  supposed  to  do, 
they  wore  golden  grasshoppers  on  their  heads.  The 
Arcadians  boasted  that  they  were  before  the  moon. 
Indeed,  in  Greece  as  elsewhere,  almost  every  tribo 
claimed  to  be  a  primeval  race,  and  to  have  inhabited 
their  own  country  from  the  beginning  of  the  world. 

Thus  we  have  shown  that  ancient  literature 
abounds  in  ridiculous  errors.  The  blunders,  puer- 
ilities, exaggerations,  childish  fables,  and  monstrous 
lies,  that  might  be  collected  from  the  writings  of  the 
ancient  poets,  historians,  orators,  and  philosophers, 
would  fill  many  volumes.     Cicero  declares  that  he 

'  Allen's  India,  An.  and  Mod*  pp.  19--20. 
2  Middle  Kingdom,  vol.  2,  p.  184.     ^phU.  Works,  vol.  3,  i>.  7- 


FREEDOM   FROM   ABSURDITY.  27 

knew  nothing  so  absurd  as  not  to  have  found  an 
advocate  in  some  one  of  the  philosophers.^  The 
writings  of  Cicero  himself  contain  many  errors*of 
this  kind,  some  examples  of  which  are  presented 
above. 

But  the  Hebrew  writings  contained  in  the  Bible 
constitute  an  exception.  It  alone  of  all  ancient 
books,  is  uniformly  reasonable  and  truth-like.  It 
contains  no  ludicrous  exaggerations,  no  w^ild  conjec- 
tures, no  monstrous  stories,  no  absurd  statements. 
The  account  which  it  gives  of  the  creation — a  sub- 
ject on  which  the  absurdest  theories  and  wildest 
conjectures  have  been  proposed — is  simple  and  rea- 
sonable, though  at  the  same  time  sublime.  The  first 
statement  is,  that  in  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth.  The  second  is,  that  at  first 
all  thinors  were  in  confusion  and  darkness.  The 
third  thing  asserted  is,  that  God  by  his  fiat  caused 
light  to  appear.  In  the  fourth  place,  the  historian 
mentions  the  separation  of  light  from  darkness,  and 
the  succession  of  night  and  day.  The  fifth  thing 
recorded  is,  the  appearance  of  the  dry  land.  Thus, 
step  by  step,  the  writer  of  Genesis  proceeds  in  the 
account  of  the  creation  and  arrangement  of  the  world, 
without  making  one  statement  which  reason  or  com- 
mon sense  can  pronounce  fanciful  or  absurd.  Moses 
is  in  perfect  contrast  with  all  other  cosmogonists. 
No  other  writer  has  given  an  account  of  creation 
which  any  enlightened  man  does  or  can  believe. 

There  is  also  a  striking  contrast  between  the  Bible 
^  De  Diviiiutioue,  2:  58. 


28  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE. 

and  other  ancient  books  in  resrard  to  ehronoloo^v.  It 
sets  up,  neither  for  itself  nor  for  the  people  among 
whom  it  originated,  any  extravagant  claims  to  an- 
tiquity. The  Jews  boasted  not  that  they  were  the 
first  race  of  men,  nor  that  they  had  inhabited  their 
own  country  from  the  beginning  of  the  world.  They 
were  taught  by  their  religious  books  that  there  were 
powerful  kingdoms  before  they  existed  as  a  nation; 
and  that  originally  they  were  slaves  to  an  older  and 
stronger  race.  Indeed,  the  only  objection  urged 
against  the  chronology  of  the  Bible  is  the  smallness 
of  its  numbers.  This  freedom  of  the  Bible  from  all 
boastful  pretensions  to  antiquity,  and  its  representing 
the  people  among  whom  it  originated  to  be  a  modern 
race  compared  with  some  of  the  surrounding  nations, 
distinguishes  it  from  every  SHicient  literature. 

Again,  in  regard  to  historical  events  and  natural 
phenomena,  the  Scriptures  are  eminently  truth-like 
and  reasonable.  The  testimony  of  Humboldt  on  this 
point  is  very  decided  :  ^  As  descriptions  of  nature,  the 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament  are  a  faithful  reflec- 
tion of  the  character  of  the  country  in  which  they 
were  com{)osed ;  of  the  alternations  of  barrenness  and 
fruitfulness,  and  of  the  alpine  forests  by  which  the 
land  of  Palestine  was  characterized.  They  describe 
in  their  regular  succession  the  relations  of  the  climate, 
the  manners  of  this  people  of  herdsmen,  and  their 
hereditary  aversion  to  agricultural  pursuits.  The 
epic  or  historical  narratives  are  marked  by  a  graceful 
simplicity,  almost  more  adorned  than  those  of  Herod- 
otus, and  most  true  to  nature;  a  point  on  which  the 
unanimous  testimony  of  modern  travelers  may  be 


FREEDOM    FROM   ABSURDITY.  29 

received  as  conclusive,  owing  to  the  inconsiderable 
changes  effected  in  the  course  of  ages  in  the  manners 
and  habits  of  a  nomadic  people/^  Similar  testimony 
is  given  by  the  great  German  poet,  Gothe,  who 
speaks  of  the  strong  naturalness  of  the  Old  Testament? 

This  faithfulness  of  the  Bible  to  natural  phenom- 
ena, prevailing  manners  and  customs,  and  other  his- 
torical matters,  is  evinced  by  the  fact,  that  sceptics,  in 
their  efforts  to  falsify  the  claims  of  the  Bible,  appeal 
not  to  common  sense^  but  to  science.  They  do  not  at- 
tempt to  convict  it  of  puerility,  absurdity,  or  palpable 
falsehood;  but  would  be  well  pleased,  could  they  but 
succeed  in  convincing  a  majority  of  enlightened 
people  that  some  of  its  statements  are  inconsistent 
with  scientific  facts  established  by  the  profound  in- 
vestigations of  modern  times.  This  is  now  their  aim 
and  hope.  The  most  strenuous  efforts  are  put  forth ; 
much  learning  and  research  are  employed;  books, 
reviews,  and  essays  are  written  in  quick  succession, 
to  fasten  upon  the  Bible  the  charge — not  of  absurd- 
ity, not  of  misrepresenting  natural  phenomena,  not 
of  falsifying  national  manners  and  customs,  not  of 
contradicting  the  dictates  of  common  sense  and 
sober  reason,  but — of  scientific  inaccuracy.  This  fact 
virtually  concedes  its  accuracy  in  matters  of  common 
observation;  that  very  accuracy  which  is  wanting  in 
all  other  ancient  books,  and  the  absence  of  which  is 
alone  sufficient  to  demonstrate  their  human  origin, 
and  the  fallibility  of  their  authors. 

Even  the  accounts  of  miracles  contained  in  the 

^  Cosmos,  vol.  2,  pp.  412-13.     ^  Truth  and  Poetry,  B.  12. 
3* 


30  LITEPwARY    EXCELLENCE. 

Scriptures  are  cliaracterized  by  sobriety,  simplicity, 
and  dignity.  The  marked  difference  between  the 
Bible  and  other  ancient  books  in  this  respect,  will 
readily  recur  to  every  classic  reader.  It  tells  of  no 
willows  weeping  blood,  no  monstrous  births,  no 
shocking  and  direful  prodigies.  The  Westminster 
Review,^  though  the  thorough-going  advocate  of 
infidelity,  makes  the  t'ol lowing  declaration  :  'The  mi- 
raculous stories  of  the  New  Testament,  with  hardly 
an  exception,  and  the  majority  of  the  miraculous 
stories  of  the  Old  Testament,  whatever  else  they  are, 
are  certainly  not  childish.  What,  for  instance,  can 
be  more  sublime  and  well-sustained,  than  that  most 
incredible  of  Hebrew  legends — the  account  of  the 
ascent  of  Elijah?  What  imagination  could  be  more 
powerful  and  profound  than  that  which  produced 
the  story  of  the  transfiguration?  The  tales  of  the 
apocryphal  gospels  are  for  the  most  part  childish: 
and  this  has  been  fairly  urged  on  the  orthodox  side 
as  an  argument  for  plenary  inspiration.'  Thus  even 
determined  opponents  of  the  supernatural  origin  of 
the  Scriptures  admit,  that  what  they  call  stories  and 
legends  are  characterized  by  dignity  and  sublimity. 
If  these  opponents  would  abandon  the  assumption 
that  the  supernatural  is  impossible,  or  at  least  in- 
credible, they  might  see  that  the  Biblical  accounts 
of  miracles,  not  Svith  hardly  an  exception,'  but  alto- 
gether without  exception,  are  anything  else  than 
childish. 

Thus  the  Bible  throughout  is  free  from  absurdity. 
» July,  18GG,  pp.  29-30. 


FREEDOM   FROM   ABSURDITY.  31 

There  is  nothing  puerile,  extravagant,  or  unreason- 
able in  its  cosmogony,  chronology,  history,  descrip- 
tions of  natural  phenomena,  or  accounts  of  miracles. 
Different,  as  we  have  shown,  is  the  literature  of  every 
ancient  nation.  With  the  single  exception  of  the 
canonical  books  of  the  Bible,  all  the  literary  produc- 
tions of  antiquity — whether  originating  among  the 
Egyptians,  Hebrews,  Hindus,  Persians,  Chinese, 
Grecians,  Romans,  or  Arabians — are  characterized 
by  blunders  and  absurdities.  The  Egyptians,  with 
their  early  civilization,  their  hieroglyphics,  books, 
astronomy,  geometry,  art  of  embalming,  and  all  their 
celebrated  stores  of  wisdom ;  the  Hindus,  with  their 
ingenuity,  philosophy,  most  comprehensive  and  ac- 
curate of  languages,  and  all  their  cultivation;  the 
Persians,  with  the  learning  and  literature  of  the  As- 
syrians and  Babylonians  added  to  their  own;  the 
Chinese,  with  their  knowledge  of  magnetism,  deci- 
mal fractions,  gunpowder,  the  art  of  glass-making, 
and  the  mariner's  compass;  the  Arabians,  with  their 
discoveries  in  medicine,  botany,  chemistry,  algebra, 
geometry,  astronomy,  and  other  sciences;  the  Greeks, 
with  their  eloquence,  poetry,  philosophy,  refinement, 
and  attainments  in  the  fine  arts;  and  the  Romans, 
appropriating  to  themselves  the  philosophy,  science, 
poetry,  and  arts  of  the  world ; — all  these  nations 
created  literatures  containing  blunders,  nonsense, 
fanciful  conjectures,  and  monstrous  fables.  But  the 
Hebrews, — almost  entirely  ignorant  of  art  and  sci- 
ence, confined  to  a  mere  patch  of  territory,  having 
little  or  no  intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  a  people 
not  only  uncultivated  and  unrefined,  but,  according 


32  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

to  their  own  writers,  strange,  obdurate,  and  stub- 
born,— have  given  to  the  world  a  literature  in  sixty- 
six  book^  containing  poetry,  history,  biography, 
sermons,  epistles,  precepts,  proverbs,  and  almost 
every  species  of  composition,  that  is  uniformly  char- 
acterized by  sober  reason,  common  sense,  and  truth- 
like simplicity  and  dignity. 

Nor  is  this  freedom  from  absurdity  secured  by  the 
silence  of  the  Biblical  writers  on  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous subjects.  They  treat  of,  or  allude  to,  almost 
every  thing  knowable  by  man.  They  speak  of  the 
earth,  sun,  moon,  and  stars;  of  the  rivers,  seas,  des- 
erts, islands,  and  countries;  of  the  creation  of  all 
things,  the  division  of  the  human  race  into  nations, 
and  their  settlement  in  different  regions  of  the  earth  ; 
of  the  rise  and  fall  of  kingdoms,  the  destruction  of 
cities,  and  the  successes  and  defeats  of  armies;  of  the 
winds,  clouds,  seasons,  minerals,  vegetables,  and  ani- 
mals, and  of  all  kinds  of  natural  phenomena,  hu- 
man actions,  and  providential  and  miraculous  events. 
Yet,  in  all  their  statements,  descriptions,  allusions, 
and  references,  they  avoid  the  blunders,  exaggera- 
tions, puerilities,  and  fabulous  stories  that  abound 
in  the  Hindu,  Persian,  Chinese,  Grecian,  Roman, 
and  Arabic  authors;  in  the  remains  of  Egyptian 
literature;  and  in  the  uncanonical  books  of  the  He- 
brews themselves. 

Such  a  book,  coming:  from  the  a2:cs  of  ie^norance 
and  superstition,  is  indeed  wonderful.  That  it  origi- 
nated among  oriental  people,  who  delighted  in  mar- 
velous and  fanciful  stories  and  fictions,  and  among 
uncultivated  minds,  in  whom  fancy  and  imagination 


FFwEEDOM    FROM   ABSURDITY.  33 

predominate  over  judgment  and  reason,  makes  it 
still  more  wonderful.  And  the  wonder  is  increased 
by  the  fact,  that  it  was  the  product  of  the  Jewish 
mind,  which — as  is  shown  by  the  Talmud  and  the 
Apocryphal  writings — delighted  in  childish  stories, 
ridiculous  exaggerations,  monstrous  fables,  and  enor- 
mous lies. 


CHAPTER  III. 

COXSISTEXCY   OF   THE   BIBLE   WITH   SCIENCE. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  we  have  shown  that  all 
the  ancient  literatures, — Egyptian,  Hebrew  (except- 
ing the  books  of  the  Bible),  Hindu,  Persian,  Chinese, 
Grecian,  Roman,  and  Arabic, — contain  statements 
and  speculations  that  are  contrary  to  the  dictates  of 
reason  and  common  sense.  Our  references  and  quo- 
tations serve  equally  well  to  illustrate  the  inconsist- 
ency of  these  ancient  literatures  with  the  teachings 
of  science.  Without  asrain  advertinir  to  the  absurd- 
ities  which  abound  in  ancient  literature  in  general, 
we  will  direct  attention  to  the  scientific  errors  of  the 
Grecian  authors.  Though  the  Greeks  were  the  most 
philosophical  and  scientific  nation  of  antiquity,  the 
writings  of  their  most  learned  and  gifted  authors 
contain  many  opinions  and  theories  that  are  demon- 
strated to  be  lalse  and  fanciful  by  the  scientific  dis- 
coveries of  modern  times. 

Herodotus  asserts  that  Europe  in  length  much  ex- 
ceeds Al'rica;^  and  that  the  Danube  is  the  largest  of 
all  rivers.'^  He  represents  the  sun  as  being  driven 
out  of  his  course  by  winter  storms.^  He  pronounces 
the  account  of  the  circumnavigation  of  Africa  by  the 
expedition  of  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  incredible,  for 
the  reason  that  the  men  en<2:a<>ed  in  it  asserted  that 

^4:  42,45.     "4:  50.     ^2:  24,26. 
34 


CONSISTENCY   WITfl   SCIENCE.  35 

they  had  the  sun  on  their  rigid  hand;^  whicli  must 
liave  been  the  case  as  long  as  they  were  south  of  the 
equator,  sailing  as  they  did  from  left  to  right. 

Anaxagoras,  in  addition  to  the  absurdities  men- 
tioned in  tlie  preceding  chapter,  held,  that  heavy 
bodies,  such  as  the  earth,  occupy  the  lower  situa- 
tions; and  the  light  ones,  such  as  he  supposed  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars  to  be,  the  higher;  and  that  the 
middle  spaces  are  assigned  to  water  and  air.  He 
maintained  that  the  stars  originally  moved  about  in 
confusion;  and  that  the  milky-way  is  the  reflection 
of  the  liij-ht  of  the  sun.^ 

^  Anaxi mines  conjectured  that  the  stars  are  riveted 
like  nails  in  the  heavens,  which  he  regarded  as  a 
solid  crystal  s}>here.  Philolaus  represented  the  sun 
as  a  glass-like  body  throwing  upon  us  the  rays  whicl^ 
it  has  received  from  the  central  fire.  Thales  held 
the  primary  element  and  the  source  of  the  universe 
to  be  water;  Anaximines  and  Diogenes,  air;  Anaxi- 
mander,  a  vast  chaos;  and  Heraclitus,  /re.  Empe- 
docles  held  air,  earth,  and  water  to  be  the  origin  of 
all  things;  and  all  things  as  uncreated  and  inde- 
structible. Parmenides  regarded  creation  as  impos- 
sible. The  Pythagoreans  held  that  numbers  and 
music  are  the  first  principles  of  the  entire  universe; 
and  that  the  world  is  regulated  by  numerical  har- 
mony."^ 

Plato  was  deeply  imbued  with  the  opinions  of  the 
Pythagorean  school.    In  his  theorizing  about  creation 

^4:  42.  2  Dioor.  Laer.  4.  ^  ^ristot.  Metapli3's.  lib.  1,  cap. 
3-6.  Cic.  De  Nat.  Deor.  1 :  10-16.     Diog.  Laer. 


36  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

and  nature,  he  made  much  use  of  proportion  and 
numbers.  He  held,  like  many  other  Grecian  phil- 
osophers, that  the  world  is  composed  of  four  elements, 
earth,  air,  fire,  and  water,  united  together  in  certain 
proportions.  The  world  being  thus,  as  he  says,  con- 
stituted an  eternal  animal^  was  provided  with  a  soul 
fixed  in  the  middle  of  it.  This  soul  was  composed 
of  an  indivisible  essence  and  another  essence  divisible 
and  corporeal,  which  the  Creator  combined  into  one 
idea.  He  then  took  one  part  of  the  whole  compound, 
then  a  second  part  double  the  first,  next  a  third  one- 
and-a-half  times  the  second,  and  so  on,  until  he  had 
a  seventh  part  twenty-seven  times  the  first.  Then 
again  dividing  and  uniting  the  parts,  he  placed  in- 
tervals between  them,  in  the  ratio  of  the  numbers 
256  and  243.  After  splitting  the  composition  into 
two  parts,  uniting  and  bending  them,  and  perform- 
ing various  other  processes,  the  Creator  had  the  soul 
of  the  universe  complete,  and  proceeded  to  fix  it  in 
its  proper  place.^ 

In  addition  to  this  account  of  the  formation  of  the 
universe  and  of  a  universal  soul,  which  is  at  war 
with  common  sense  as  well  as  with  science,  this 
prince  of  philosophers  maintained,  that  though  the 
universe  is  a  sphere,  the  earth  is  in  shape  a  square 
block.^  He  asserted  that  water  condensed  takes  the 
form  of  stones  and  earth;  when  melted,  that  of 
vapor  and  air;  the  air,  when  burnt  up,  becomes  fire; 
fire,  when  condensed  and  extinct,  becomes  air;  air, 
collected  and  condensed,  becomes  mists  and  clouds, 

»Tim.  11,12,14.  'Tim.  30. 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  37 

mists  and  clouds,  when  compressed,  become  rain,  and 
from  water  are  again  formed  stones  and  earth.^  He 
also  maintained  the  unscientific  and  absurd  notion 
that  the  stars  are  living  beings,  divine  and  eternal 
animals,  to  each  of  which  an  intelligent  soul  is  as- 
signed.^ His  notions  concerning  the  various  organs 
of  the  human  body  and  their  functions  were  equally 
erroneous.  He  thought  the  lungs  were  designed 
merely  as  a  sort  of  cushion  around  the  heart,  to  cool 
it  when  angry.  He  regarded  the  liver  as  the  seat  of 
the  intellect  and  the  affections,  and  as  especially  de- 
signed for  divination.  He  declared  that  the  marrow 
is  composed  of  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water,  mingled  in 
certain  proportions  '  with  straight  and  smooth  tri- 
angles of  the  first  order/  and  that  God  formed  the 
bones  of  pure  and  smooth  earth,  mingled  and  moist- 
ened with  marrow,  first  placed  in  fire,  then  plunged 
in  water,  once  more  placed  in  fire  and  then  again 
plunged  in  water.  He  declared  also  that  the  blood 
consists  of  fire  combined  with  moistened  mud,  and 
is-  therefore  red.  His  opinions  concerning  many 
other  parts  of  the  human  body  were  equally  errone- 
ous and  absurd.^ 

As  we  have  already  shown,"*  Aristotle  taught  that 
the  stars  are  living  and  active  beings,  and  that  they 
produce  heat  by  rubbing  against  the  air.^  He  re- 
jected the  Pythagorean  doctrines  concerning  the  uni- 
verse, and  in  opposition  thereto  maintained  that  the 
earth  is  the  centre  of  the  world;  and  that  the  sun, 

1  Tim.  22.         2  xim.  15-17.      Epin.  7:6.        ^  xim.  45-61. 
*  Preceding  Chap.      ^De  Coelo,  2,  17,12. 
4 


38  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

moon,  and  stars  revolve  around  it.^  Among  the 
errors  which  he  held  are  also  the  following:  that 
the  planets  have  many  motions;^  that  the  fixed  stars 
do  not  revolve;^  that  the  stars  are  small  bodies; 
that  the  earth  is  400,000  stadia  (about  50,000  miles) 
in  circumference;*  that  the  milky- way  is  a  large 
comet ;^  that  comets  are  meteors  which  belong  to  our 
atmosphere;^  that  aerolites  are  large  stones  raised 
by  hurricanes;  that  the  number  of  celestial  spheres 
is  either  forty-seven  or  fifty-five,  but  cannot  be 
greater;^  and  that  India  is  near  the  Straits  of  Gib- 
ralter.^ 

Such  are  the  scientific  errors  which  abound  in  the 
ablest  writers  of  ancient  times, — errors  in  geography, 
geology,  astronomy,  physiology,  chemistry,  and  al- 
most every  branch  of  natural  science.  If  such  were 
the  errors  of  Plato,  Aristotle,  and  of  all  the  distin- 
guished Grecian  philosophers  and  naturalists,  what 
a  mass  of  scientific  error  and  absurdity  must  be  con- 
tained in  the  writings  of  the  many  less  gifted  authors 
who  flourished  in  ancient  times! 

Nor  is  modern  literature  free  from  scientific  errors. 
They  abound  in  the  writings  of  modern  authors  of 
every  class.  Voltaire  maintained  that  the  marine 
nholls  found  in  the  mountainous  regions  of  Europe 
h:i(l  been  dropped  from  the  hats  of  pilgrims  return- 
ing from  the  Holy  Land.  The  distinguished  theo- 
logian Turrettin,  argued  against  the  Copernican 
system,  and  maintained  that  the  heavenly  bodies  re- 
volve round  the  earth.     Leibnitz  imao:ined  that  the 

^DeCcelo,  2:  12-13.     22:12.     ^2:14.      *2:12.     ^2:14. 
«  Meteor.  1 :  8,  11-14.     ^  Metaph.  11:8.     «  De  Ccclo,  2:  U. 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  39 

earth  was  originally  a  burning  mass,  which  has  been 
undergoing  a  process  of  cooling  ever  since  its  crea- 
tion; that,  when  the  outer  crust  had  cooled  suffi- 
ciently to  allow  the  vapors  to  condense,  they  fell  and 
formed  a  universal  ocean,  covering  the  loftiest  moun- 
tains; and  thot,  afterward  the  crust  broke  and  al- 
lowed the  waters  to  rush  into  the  subterranean  hol- 
lows, so  that  the  level  of  the  ocean  was  lowered  and 
the  dry  land  appeared.  Burnet,  whose  Theory  of  the 
Earth  Addison  and  Steele  commended,  explained 
why,  as  he  supposed,  the  earth  enjoyed  perpetual 
spring  previous  to  the  flood,  and  how  the  crust  of 
the  globe,  being  fissured  by  the  sun's  rays,  let  out  the 
waters  of  the  supposed  central  abyss.  Whiston — 
whose  theory  was  panegyrized  by  Locke — supposed 
that  the  earth  was  originally  a  comet;  and  that  the 
deluge  was  caused  by  the  near  approach  of  another 
comet.  Buffon  thought  the  earth  was  originally  a 
globe  of  liquid  fire,  smitten  from  the  sun  by  the  per- 
cussion of  a  comet;  but  he  adopted  in  the  main  the 
tiyeory  of  Leibnitz.  Bacon  favored  the  theory  that 
the  earth  is  the  centre  of  the  world,  and  that  the  sun 
and  other  heavenly  bodies  revolve  around  it.  Pie 
believed  in  alchemy,  or  at  least  in  the  possibility  of 
transmuting  the  baser  metals  into  gold.  Milton 
wrote  about  the  crystalline  sphere,  and  male  and  fe- 
male light;  and  embodied  in  his  immortal  poem 
many  of  the  scientific  errors  of  his  times.  Sir  Charles 
Lyell  formerly  opposed  the  Lamarckian  theory  of 
the  gradual  development  of  new  from  old  species. 
But  since  the  re-statement  of  that  theory  by  Darwin, 


40  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

Sir  Charles  has  given  in  his  adhesion  to  it;^  and  the 
idea  that  men,  beasts,  and  birds  are  descended  from 
the  same  original  ancestors,  which  he  formerly  op- 
posed, he  now  advocates. 

But  we  have  not  space  to  illustrate  at  length  the 
scientific  inaccuracy  of  modern  literature.  It  abounds 
in  errors  like  those  mentioned  above.  Modern  as  well 
as  ancient  writers  present  theories,  conjectures,  opin- 
ions, statements,  and  allusions  that  are  clearly  incon- 
sistent with  the  teachings  of  science,  and  even  of  en- 
lightened reason. 

But  there  is  in  this  respect  a  striking  contrast 
between  the  Bible  and  every  other  collection  of 
writings.  There  is  no  real  discrepancy,  but  a  re- 
markable harmony,  between  its  declarations  and  the 
truths  of  science. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  the  Bible  does  not  contradict 
science.  Science  has  corrected  some  mistaken  inter- 
pretations of  the  Bible,  but  has  not  demonstrated 
any  of  its  declarations  to  be  false.  Many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  array  science  against  it,  but  al- 
ways without  success. 

It  has  been  urged  that  the  earth  is  much  older 
than  the  Bible  represents  it.  But  the  Bible  really 
makes  no  declaration  in  regard  to  the  age  of  the  earth. 
Its  simple  but  sublime  declaration  is,  that  In  the  be- 
ginning God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth.  It  as- 
serts the  fact,  but  does  not  fix  the  time  of  the  creation. 
There  was  a  time  of  darkness  and  chaos  after  the 
creation  of  all  things  out  of  nothing.  The  earth  may 
^  New  edition  of  the  Principles  of  Geology. 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  41 

have  existed  a  thousand,  a  million,  or  ten  thousand 
millions  of  years  before  the  creation  of  man,  and  be- 
fore the  commencement  of  the  six  days'  work.  The 
admissibility  of  this  interpretation  was  recognized 
before  the  science  of  geology  was  known. 

The  command  of  Joshua  to  the  sun  and  moon  to 
stand  still,^  has  been  represented  as  inconsistent  with 
the  established  theory  of  the  revolution  of  the  earth 
on  its  own  axis.  But  this  command,  and  the  account 
of  the  stopping  of  the  sun  and  moon  in  their  course, 
are  expressed  in  accordance  with  the  modes  of  speech 
universally  prevalent  among  men,  and  do  not  contra- 
dict any  of  the  facts  taught  by  astronomical  science. 
The  very  men  who  declare  Joshua's  command  to  be 
inconsistent  with  the  known  motion  of  the  earth, 
themselves  use  langjuao^e  in  accordance  with  the 
apparent  motion  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Their  own 
mode  of  speech  refutes  their  objection,  and  vindicates 
the  Bible  account  of  the  stopping  of  the  sun  and 
moon  in  their  course,  from  the  alleged  inconsistency 
with  the  fact  of  the  earth's  diurnal  revolution.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  a  book,  designed  to  instruct  the 
whole  human  race  in  regard  to  moral  and  religious 
subjects,  should  be  more  scientific  in  its  language 
than  the  ordinary  speech  of  Newton,  Humboldt,  and 
scientific  men  in  general.  Were  a  writer  or  speaker, 
in  treating  of  a  moral  or  religious  subject,  to  use 
other  phraseology  than  that  employed  in  the  Bible 
in  regard  to  the  apparent  motion  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  he  would  subject  himself  to  the  charge  of 
pedantry  and  affectation. 

» Josh.  10:  12. 
4* 


42  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

It  has  also  been  asserted  that  the  author  of  Genesis 
contradicts  the  teachings  of  astronomy,  in  represent- 
ing the  creation  of  the  sun  and  other  heavenly  bodies 
as  taking  place  on  the  fourth  day,  and  subsequently 
to  the  creation  of  the  earth.^  But  it  is  only  a  maldngj 
not  a  creation^  that  is  declared  to  have  been  the  work 
of  the  fourth  day.  The  sacred  historian  asserts  that 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  (the  heav^ens  are  first  men- 
tioned) were  created  in  the  beginning.  The  word 
Jieuvens  certainly  includes  the  heavenly  bodies.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Mosaic  account,  therefore,  the  sun 
and  moon  were  created  in  the  bes^innino;,  but  on  the 
fourth  day  were  made  luminaries  to  the  earth. 

It  has  been  further  urged,  that  the  Scriptures 
favor  a  scientific  error  in  calling  the  atmospheric 
heavens  a  firmament^  The  word  firmament  does  in- 
deed suggest  the  idea  of  something  solid;  which  the 
heavens  are  not.  But  the  Hebrew  word  translated 
firmament  has  no  such  meaning.  It  is  correctly 
translated  expanse  in  the  margin. 

Another  supposed  error  has  been  pointed  out  in 
the  account  of  the  Xoachian  deluge.  It  has  been  as- 
serted that  there  is  not  w^ater  enough  on  the  globe  to 
overflow  all  the  land  and  to  cover  the  highest  moun- 
tains to  the  depth  of  fifteen  cubits  and  upwards;  and 
that,  therefore,  the  declarations  in  Gen.  7:  18,  19 
are  incorrect.  But  it  is  not  certain  that  the  author 
of  Genesis  represents  the  deluge  as  universal.  The 
declaration  that  'all  the  high  hills  that  were  under 
the  whole  heaven  were  covered,'  does  not  necessarily 
imply  its  universality.  In  Deut.  2  :  25,  it  is  declared 
^Gcn.  1:  14-19.  ^Gqh.  1:  8. 


co:nsistency  with  science.  43 

that  the  fear  of  the  Israelites  ^should  be  upon  the 
Dations  that  are  under  the  whole  heaven'.  Also  in 
Col.  1 :  23,  it  is  declared  that  ^the  o^ospel  was  preach- 
ed to  every  creature  under  heaven/  It  is  very  evi- 
dent that  in  these  declarations,  the  words  whole  hea- 
ven or  under  heaven  are  used  in  a  limited  sense.  They 
are  often  so  used.  We  may  say  during  a  thunder- 
storm, that  a  black  cloud  covered  the  whole  heaven, 
or  that  durini!*  a  conflaij^ration,  the  flames  illumin- 
ated  the  ichole  heaven.  By  such  phraseology  every 
intelligent  person  would  understand,  not  the  heavens 
as  extending  round  the  earth,  but  the  heavens  as  ex- 
tending over  a  certain  country  or  region.  The  other 
phrases  employed  in  Genesis  in  regard  to  the  extent 
of  the  deluge  may  be  understood  in  the  same  way. 
Pool  and  other  commentators,  and  Miller  and  other 
Christian  geologists,  have  maintained  that  the  deluge 
extended  only  over  the  regions  of  the  earth  that  were 
inhabited  by  men.  Before  the  objection  mentioned 
can  be  urged  with  any  force  against  the  Mosaic  ac- 
count of  the  deluge,  it  must  be  shown  that  that  ac- 
count asserts  its  universality. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  the  Bible  is  at  variance 
with  geology,  in  teaching  that  all  death  is  the  conse- 
quence of  man's  sin.  Geology  teaches,  or  is  thought 
to  teach,  that  death  was  introduced  before  sin:  that 
beasts,  birds,  fishes,  and  all  kinds  of  animals  died 
before  man  appeared  on  the  earth.  The  Bible,  how- 
ever, does  not,  as  many  suppose,  teach  a  contrary 
doctrine.  It  asserts  only,  that  the  death  of  men  is 
the  consequence  of  their  sins;  and  that  thus  they  are 
degraded  to  a  level  with  ^the  beasts  that  perish.'     It 


44  LITERAKY   EXCELLENCE. 

does  not  assert  that  beasts  were  immortal  before  the 
fall  of  man;  or  that  they  became  subject  to  death 
through  man's  sin. 

Such,  in  the  main,  are  the  objections  that  are 
urged  against  the  scientific  accuracy  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. We  do  not  by  any  means  assert  that  these 
are  all  the  objections  that  are  urged.  AYe  present 
them  merely  as  specimens.  In  regard  to  these  ob- 
jections in  general,  we  remark: — (1)  that  they  are 
founded  in  most  cases  on  mis-translations  or  mis-in- 
terpretations. (2)  These  mis-translations  and  mis- 
interpretations have  been  pointed  out,  and  the  objec- 
tions founded  on  them  refuted,  again  and  again. 
(3)  These  objections,  though  often  urged  with  dog- 
matic assurance  by  the  opponents  of  the  inspiration 
and  infallibility  of  the  Scriptures,  have  been  declared 
invalid  by  Newton,  Cuvier,  Buckland,  Miller, 
Mitchell,  Silliman,  Hitchcock,  and  other  distin- 
guished men  of  science.  *  (4)  Infidels  themselves 
have  abandoned  the  most  of  these  objections.  Every 
little  while  an  objection  is  started,  that  takes  with 
sceptical  minds  for  a  time,  but  is  soon  laid  aside. 
Thus  it  has  been  with  the  objections  drawn  from 
Egyptian  hieroglyphics  and  chronology;  Hindu  and 
Chinese  tables;  astronomy,  and  geology.  Infidels 
abandon  them  all  in  turn,  and  fall  back  upon  the 
assumption  that  'miracles  are  incredible,  if  not  im- 
possible.' 

There  are  some  objections,  however,  which  are  of 
very  recent  origin,  and  to  which  some  of  the  above 
remarks  do  not  apply.     These  objections  are,  there- 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  45 

fore,  entitled  to  a  more  careful  consideration.  One 
of  them  is,  the  objection  urged  of  late  against  the 
teachings,  or  supposed  teachings,  of  the  Bible,  in  re- 
gard to  the  age  of  man  upon  the  earth.  The  Bible 
is  generally  believed  to  teach  that  Adam  was  created 
about  six  thousand  years  ago;  and  until  within  a 
recent  period  all  geologists  assented  to  this  chron- 
ology. But  it  is  now  maintained  by  not  a  few  geolo- 
gists, that  man  has  existed  upon  the  earth  during  a 
much  longer  period.  The  most  distinguished  advo- 
cate of  this  theory  is  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  Between 
the  theory  advocated  in  his  Antiquity  of  Man  and 
the  chronology  of  the  Bible  as  generally  understood, 
there  is  an  irreconcilable  contradiction.  Either  the 
chronology  of  the  Bible,  as  generally  understood,  is 
incorrect;  or  Sir  Charles  has  mis-interpreted  the 
facts  of  geology. 

1.  It  is  to  be  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  is 
possible  that  the  early  chronology  of  the  Bible  is  mz's- 
undcrstood.  This  admission  need  give  the  Christian 
no  alarm;  nor  is  it  a  just  ground  for  exultation  on 
the  part  of  the  sceptic.  If  the  Bible  be  what  we  re- 
gard it — a  divine  revelation — science  will  not  con- 
tradict any  of  its  statements;  though  it  may  correct 
some  of  our  interpretations  of  them.  It  is  the  glory 
of  the  Scriptures,  that  all  branches  of  science  con- 
tribute to  their  elucidation. 

We  are  not,  indeed,  convinced  that  the  chrono- 
logical computation,  founded  upon  the  Biblical  his- 
tory, and  making  the  human  race  less  than  six 
thousand  years  old,  is  incorrect.  AVe  assert  only 
the  possibility  of  its  incorrectness.     This  possibility 


46  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

is  demonstrated  by  the  fact,  that  that  computation 
does  not  by  any  means  command  universal  consent. 
What  is  called  the  Christian  Era,  according  to  which 
the  creation  of  man  took  place  4004  years  before  the 
birth  of  Christ,  was  introduced  by  Dionysius  Exi- 
guous, a  monk  of  Rome,  in  the  sixth  century.  This 
is  the  chronology  of  the  Vulgate,  and  is  received  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  church.  The  Samaritan  Penta- 
teuch^ however,  makes  4,700  years  instead  of  4,004 
between  the  creation  of  man  and  the  birth  of  Christ; 
the  Septuagint,  5,872;  the  Greek  church,  5,508; 
Hales,  5,411.  Dr.  Pritchard,  whose  orthodoxy  as 
w^ell  as  learning  is  unquestioned,  declares  that,  while 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Abraham  in  the  land  of 
Canaan  may  be  ascertained  with  close  approxima- 
tion to  accuracy,  ^beyond  that  event  we  can  never 
know  how  many  centuries,  nor  even  how  many 
chiliads  of  years,  may  have  elapsed  since  the  first 
man  of  clay  received  the  image  of  God  and  the 
breath  of  life.'^ 

In  view  of  these  facts,  it  is  wise  to  admit  that  the 
chronology  of  the  Bible  may  not  be  rightly  under- 
stood; and  that  the  facts  of  geology  may  contradict 
some  of  our  interpretations,  without  invalidating  any 
of  its  chronological  statements. 

2.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  facts  of  geology 
that  are  supposed  to  teach  the  remote  antiquity  of 
man,  are  misunderstood.  Geologists  are  no  more 
infallible  than  Biblical  commentators.  It  is  even 
yet  to  be  seen,  whether  the  theory  advocated  by  Sir 

^  Physical  History  of  Mankind,  vol.  5,  p.  570. 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  47 

Charles  Lyell  has  the  approbation  of  even  a  majority 
of  geologists.  He  himself  admits  that  nearly  all  the 
facts  which  he  cites  to  prove  the  great  antiquity  of 
man,  are  inconclusive.  He  mentions  ancient  bricks 
found  buried  sixty  or  seventy  feet  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  Nile  valley  in  Egypt,  and  declares  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  supposed  rate  of  increase  of  the  Nile 
mud,  some  of  these  bricks  must  be  12,000  and  others 
30,000  years  old.  Yet  he  admits  tliat  there  have 
been  no  satisfactory  measurements  of  Nile  mud  in 
reference  to  the  rate  of  increase,  and  that  the  bricks 
in  question  may  be  comparatively  modern.^  Besides, 
bricks  might  sink  sixty  or  seventy  feet  in  the  soft 
loam  of  the  Nile  valley  in  two  or  three  thousand 
years. 

In  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi,  supposed  to  be 
many  tens  of  thousands  of  years  in  forming, — prob- 
ably more  than  100,000, — a  human  skeleton  has  been 
found  sixteen  feet  beneath  the  surface.  Dr.  Dowler 
is  quoted  as  assigning  to  this  skeleton  an  antiquity 
of  50,000  years.  Sir  Charles,  however,  says, '  I  can- 
not form  an  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  the  chrono- 
logical calculations  which  have  led  Dr.  Dowler  to 
ascribe  to  this  skeleton  an  antiquity  of  50,000  years. '^ 

In  1857,  in  a  cave  near  Dusseldorf  in  the  valley 
of  Dussel,  a  human  skull  was  found,  one  hundred 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth.  To  this  skull  a 
great  antiquity  has  been  ascribed.  But  our  author 
states,  that  there  is  a  fissure  extending  from  the  cave 
to  the  upper  surface  of  the  country,  and  suggests 
^  Antiq.  of  Man,  p.  38.     ^  p.  44. 


48  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

that  through  this  passage  the  body,  to  which  the 
skull  belonged,  and  the  loam  in  which  it  was  found 
buried,  may  have  been  washed  into  the  cave  below.^ 
Hence  these  bones  may  not  be  even  a  century  old. 

A  fossil  human  bone  has  been  found  at  Natchez 
on  the  Mississippi,  accompanied  by  bones  of  the  mas- 
todon and  megalonyx,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
been  washed  out  of  a  more  ancient  alluvial  deposit. 
But  the  geologist  suggests  that  this  bone  may  have 
been  derived  from  the  vegetable  soil  at  the  top  of  a 
cliif,  near  which  it  was  found;  and  remarks,  that 
since  we  have  but  one  isolated  case,  it  is  allowable 
to  suspend  our  judgment  as  to  the  great  antiquity  of 
the  fossil.^ 

Thus,  in  regard  to  all  the  human  bones  found 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  referred  to  as 
proof  of  man's  high  antiquity,  our  author  makes 
some  statement  which  shows  that  after  all,  they  may 
have  been  deposited  at  a  very  recent  date  in  the  caves 
or  alluvium  in  which  they  were  found.  To  the  ob- 
jection that  the  bones  of  men  are  found  as  fossils 
only  in  caves  and  other  dark  recesses  where  the 
fauna  of  different  periods  may  have  been  washed  by 
the  floods  and  have  found  a  common  sepulture,  he 
replies  only  by  referring  to  the  fact,  that  flint  knives 
and  hatchets  have  been  found  imbedded  in  regular 
and  undisturbed  strata  far  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  carth.^  We  have  thus  a  virtual  admission  that 
none  of  the  fossil  human  bones  that  have  yet  been 
found,  can  be  relied  on  to  prove  the  antiquity  of 
'  p.  7G-77.    "^  pp.  200-3.    '  pp.  93-4. 


CO^^SrSTEXCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  49 

mankind.  It  is  strange  that  they  should  be  referred 
to  in  a  scientific  work  for  such  a  purpose. 

In  regard  to  the  artificial  knives  and  hatchets 
found  imbedded  in  undisturbed  strata,  and  supposed 
to  be  very  ancient,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  no 
human  bones  have  been  found  along  with  them.  Bones 
of  mammalia,  of  both  living  and  extinct  species,  have 
been  found  in  abundance  along  with  these  ancient 
flint  implements.  But  the  author  of  the  Antiquity 
of  Man  admits,  that  though*  in  the  course  of  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century  thousands  of  such  bones 
have  been  subjected  to  the  examination  of  skillful 
osteologists,  they  have  not  been  able  to  detect  among 
them  one  fragment  of  a  human  skeleton;  not  even  a 
tooth.  He  remarks,  that  this  fact  is  naturally  a 
matter  of  no  small  surprise;  and  says,  that  he  ^con- 
fidently expects  that  some  human  remains  will  be 
found  in  the  older  alluvium  of  the  European  valleys. ^^ 
Would  it  not  be  well  to  suspend  judgment  in  regard 
to  the  antiquity  of  man,  until  this  confident  expecta- 
tion shall  have  been  realized?  Heretofore,  the  ab- 
sence of  the  remains  of  a  race  of  animals  from  any 
particular  stratum  has  been  considered  incontestable 
proof,  that  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  that 
stratum  such  race  of  animals  had  no  existence.  Lyell 
requires  us  either  to  abandon  this  principle,  or  to 
accept  his  own  confident  expectation  referred  to  above 
as  equivalent  to  an  established  scientific  fact. 

But  flint  implements  have  been  found  in  gravel 
beds  twenty  or  thirty  feet  beneath  the  earth's  surface, 
mingled  with  the  bones  of  extinct  animals;  and,  not- 

1  pp.  144-5. 
5 


60  LITERAEY   EXCELLENCE. 

withstanding  the  absence  of  all  human  remains,  the 
conclusion  has  been  drawn,  that  human  beings  were 
contemporary  with  those  extinct  animals;  and  that 
the  human  race  is  much  more  than  six  thousand  years 
old.  There  are,  however,  several  things  which  must 
be  proved,  in  order  that  the  argument  may  have  any 
validity.  (1)  It  must  be  proved  that  the  knife- 
shaped  and  hatchet-shaped  flints  are  really  artificial, 
not  natural  formations.  (2)  It  must  be  shown  that 
they  were  not  fabricafed  by  fraudulent  workmen, 
tempted  by  the  high  price  which  such  articles  com- 
mand. (3)  It  must  be  proved  that  they  could  not 
have  been  formed  by  animals  having  a  little  higher 
order  of  instinct  than  the  ape  and  the  beaver,  but 
destitute  of  reason.  (4)  It  must  be  proved  that  these 
flint  implements  and  the  bones  of  extinct  animals 
were  deposited  together,  at  the  time  the  gravel  beds 
in  which  they  are  found  were  formed,  and  did  not 
get  mingled  long  after  the  disappearance  of  the  ex- 
tinct animals  from  the  earth.  (5)  It  must  be  shown 
that  these  knives  and  hatchets  were  not  formed  by 
intellectual  beings  who  had  become  extinct  before 
man  appeared  on  the  earth. 

It  may,  indeed,  be,  that  the  first  four  points  have 
been  demonstrated  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  candid 
investigators.  But  until  human  bones  shall  have 
been  found  mingled  with  these  implements,  the  sup- 
position may  be  entertained  that  they  were  manu- 
factured by  intellectual  beings  other  and  earlier  than 
the  human  race;  and  that  they  prove  nothing  in  re- 
gard to  the  antiquity  of  man.  Some  of  tlie  facts 
which  Lyell  presents  seem,  indeed,  to  suggest  the 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  51 

existence  of  an  intellectual  race  antecedent  to  man. 
The  skull  found  in  the  cave  near  Dusseldorf,  as  men- 
tioned above,  is  described  as  scarcely  human.  We 
are  informed  that  doubts  were  expressed  by  several 
naturalists,  whether  it  was  truly  human.  Prof.  Hux- 
ley remarked  at  once,  that  it  was  the  most  ape-like 
skull  he  had  ever  beheld;  and  after  closer  examina- 
tion declared,  that  Hhis  skull  is  the  most  brutal  of 
all  known  human  skulls.^  Sir  Charles  himself  de- 
clares, that  ^undoubtedly  there  is  a  nearer  resem- 
blance in  the  outline  of  this  skull  to  that  of  a  chim- 
panzee than  had  ever  been  observed  before  in  any 
human  cranium/^  Now,  if  this  skull  is  more  than 
six  thousand  years  old,  it  may  have  belonged  to  a 
being  inferior,  but  antecedent  to  man.  The  flint 
implements,  to  which  so  much  importance  is  attached 
by  some  geologists,  may  have  been  formed  by  that 
antecedent  race;  and  their  intermingling  with  the 
bones  of  extinct  animals  in  ancient  gravel  beds  may 
thus  be  accounted  for,  without  assuming  a  higher 
antiquity  for  man  than  that  ascribed  to  him  by  the 
prevailing  chronology. 

Perhaps,  too,  the  mortal  remains  of  beings  su- 
perior to  man  lie  imbedded  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  Sir  C.  Lyell,  as  stated  above,  confidently 
expects  that  human  remains  will  he  detected  in  the 
older  alluvium  of  the  European  valleys.  But  in- 
stead of  human  remains,  there  may  be  found,  not  in 
the  alluvium  only,  but  in  the  lowest  formation — even 
deeper  down  than  the  geologist  has  yet  penetrated — 
the  mortal  coils  of  beings  as  much  superior  to  men 
ip.  78-92. 


52  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

intellectually  and  morally,  as  the  mastodon  and 
megatherium  exceed  in  size  the  largest  races  of  living 
animals.  The  geologist  may  be  called  away  from 
huntino^  after  rude  hatchets  and  knives  of  stone  in 
ancient  gravel  beds,  by  the  startling  discovery  of 
the  relics  of  art  more  perfect  and  beautiful  than  man 
has  yet  attained. 

It  is  thus  seen,  that  the  discovery  of  flint  imple- 
ments beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth,  which  may 
be  shown  by  their  position  and  accompaniments  to 
have  been  manufactured  by  intellectual  beings  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  years  ago,  does  not  demonstrate 
the  incorrectness  of  the  chronology  which  assigns  to 
man  an  antiquity  of  only  about  six  thousand  years. 
And  even  if  geology  should  prove  him  to  have  ap- 
peared on  earth  at  a  much  earlier  period;  the  result, 
so  far  as  the  Bible  is  concerned,  might  only  be,  to 
rectify  the  inferences  that  have  been  drawn  from  its 
chronological  statements. 

AYe  do  not,  indeed,  regard  the  evidence  of  the 
great  antiquity  of  man,  presented  by  Lyell,  as  con- 
clusive. We  are  not  even  convinced,  by  all  that 
geologists  have  said,  of  the  great  antiquity  of  the 
earth.  Our  doubts  on  this  latter  point  arise  from 
the  fact,  that  it  has  not  been  proved  that  the  various 
strata  of  the  earth  were  formed  at  different  times. 
They  are  nowhere  all  found  in  super-position.  They 
are,  indeed,  found  in  a  certain  order,  where  they 
exist  at  all.  But  in  no  one  place  are  they  all  found 
together.  In  the  region  where  we  write,  the  Silurian 
system  is  at  the  surface.  Straia,  miles  in  depth,  and 
which  are  supposed  to  have  been  deposited  at  inter- 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  53 

vals  of  millions  of  years,  never  had  an  existence 
here;  or  if  they  had,  have  all  disappeared.  If  the 
latter,  where  have  they  gone?  and  why  are  not  their 
fossils  scattered  among  the  strata  of  other  regions? 
But  if  all  the  fossiliferous  rocks  from  the  Silurian 
up,  not  only  are,  but  always  have  been  wanting  in 
various  regions,  it  is  evident  that  some  of  the  strata 
must  have  been  formed  at  the  same  time — while  the 
Silurian  or  the  Chalk  formation  was  being  formed 
in  one  locality,  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  or  the  Car- 
boniferous System  was  being  formed  in  another.  If 
such  be  the  case,  no  theory  in  regard  to  the  age  of 
the  earth  can  be  founded  on  its  strata  and  fossils. 
Until  geologists  demonstrate  that  the  various  strata 
were  formed  at  different  periods,  they  can  really 
establish  nothing  either  in  regard  to  the  age  of  the 
earth,  or  the  age  of  man  upon  it. 

In  regard  to  the  philological  argument;  which  is, 
that  according  to  the  chronology  of  Scripture,  there 
was  not  sufficient  time  for  the  formation  of  the  di- 
verse languages  that  are  known  to  have  existed  in 
very  early  times;  it  may  be  observed,  that  it  is 
founded  on  the  assumption  that  linguistic  changes 
took  place  as  slowly  in  very  ancient  times  as  at 
present.  This  assumption,  however,  seems  incorrect, 
when  we  consider  the  isolation  of  ancient  tribes  and 
nations,  their  frequent  migrations,  the  occasional 
subjugation  and  absorption  of  one  by  another,  their 
ignorance  of  the  art  of  printing,  by  which  modern 
languages  have  become  fixed,  and  other  circum- 
stances which  must  have  accelerated  linjruistic  diver- 
gences  and  fluctuations  in  ancient  times.  A  similar 
5* 


54  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

error  has  been  committed  by  some  geologists,  in  as- 
suming that  clianges  on  the  eartli's  surface  at  no 
period  in  the  past  progressed  faster  than  at  tlie 
present  time;  and  in  building  upon  this  assumption 
their  theories  in  regard  to  the  vast  antiquity  of  the 
earth.  But  if  the  Bible  is  what  it  claims  to  be,  the 
diversities  of  human  language  were  produced  sud- 
denly by  the  interposition  of  the  Almighty;^  and 
hence,  notwithstanding  the  existence  of  these  di- 
versities in  very  ancient  times,  the  received  chron- 
ology may  be  correct. 

In  regard  to  the  argument  drawn  from  the  ad- 
vanced state  of  the  arts  soon  after  the  Noachian 
deluge,  we  simply  remark,  that  it  is  far  from  prov^- 
ing  a  long  lapse  of  time;  since  a  knowledge  of  the 
arts,  which  had  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years  for 
their  development  previous  to  the  deluge,  would  be 
preserved  by  Noah  and  his  sons  in  the  ark. 

But  whatever  geologists  and  chronologists  have 
proved,  or  shall  prove,  in  regard  to  the  antiquity  of 
the  human  race,  the  only  effect,  so  far  as  the  Bible 
is  concerned,  will  be,  as  we  have  said,  to  correct 
mistakes  in  regard  to  its  chronology.  The  effort  to 
falsify  its  chronology,  like  afl  the  other  efforts  to 
prove  a  contradiction  between  it  and  science,  has 
failed.  Though  both  ancient  and  modern  literature 
abound  in  obvious  and  absurd  contradictions  of  sci- 
ence, mistakes  in  chronology,  astronomy,  geology, 
geography,  physiology,  and  history,  the  Bible  stands 
all  the  tests  of  advancinii;  science  and  of  time. 

Nor  is  this  fact  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  silence 

^Gcn.  11:  1-9. 


COJSISISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  55 

of  the  Bible  in  regard  to  the  matters  of  which  the 
natural  sciences  treat.  There  is  no  book  whose  con- 
tents are  so  comprehensive  and  various  as  those  of 
the  Bible.  It  describes  the  creation,  and  predicts 
the  destruction  of  the  world.  It  speaks  of  the  heav- 
ens with  their  sun,  moon,  stars,  and  milky-way;  of 
the  earth,  with  its  mountains,  rivers,  plains,  seas, 
islands,  and  countries;  of  the  clouds,  winds,  rains, 
dews,  snows,  hail,  vapor,  and  of  all  the  elements  and 
phenomena  of  nature.  It  treats  of  almost  all  beings — 
God,  angels,  men,  birds,  fishes,  reptiles,  insects;  of 
almost  all  events,  from  the  thunder-storm  and  the 
earthquake,  to  the  voice  of  the  turtle  and  the  chirp- 
ing of  the  grasshopper ;  of  the  trees,  shrubs,  grass, 
flowers;  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  and  the  hyssop  that 
springeth  out  of  the  wall.  Though  the  chief  design 
of  the  book  is  to  teach  theology  and  morality,  many 
of  its  declarations  touch  on  botany,  zoology,  astron- 
omy, geology,  physiology,  history,  philology,  and 
almost  every  branch  of  science.  It  is  the  only  book 
of  the  universe  that  we  possess.  Of  all  books  it  is 
the  most  worthy  of  being  called  the  Cosmos.  The 
celebrated  author  who  chose  that  word  to  designate 
his  great  work,  in  speaking  of  the  descriptions  of 
nature  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing; declaration:  ^It  mis^ht  almost  be  said  that 
one  single  Psalm  (104th)  represents  the  image  of  the 
whole  Cosmos.  *  *  *  We  are  astonished  to 
find  in  a  lyrical  poem  of  such  a  limited  compass,  the 
whole  universe — the  heavens  and  earth — sketched 
with  a  few  bold  touches.'^  The  Bible,  in  thus  dc- 
^  Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  2,  p.  413. 


56  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE. 

scribing  the  whole  universe,  and  in  alhiding  to 
matters  which  pertain  to  all  the  natural  sciences, 
speaks  freely  and  unhesitatingly.  Its  writers  tread 
the  ground  fearlessly.  They  are  very  out-spoken. 
Yet  in  all  their  narratives,  descriptions,  statements, 
and  allusions,  they  avoid  saying  any  thing  which 
the  discoveries  of  modern  science  demonstrate  to 
be  incorrect. 

But  they  not  only  avoid  scientific  errors;  they  also 
present  much  scientific  truth.  They  not  only  avoid 
contradicting  science,  but  also  allude  to  facts  which 
have  been  made  known  only  by  the  ])rofound  inves- 
tigations of  modern  times.  Their  scientific  accuracy 
may  be  illustrated  by  many  examples. 

Instead  of  representing  the  earth  as  resting  on  an 
elephant,  and  the  elephant  on  a  tortoise,  as  did  the 
ancient  Hindu  writers,  the  Bible  declares  that  God 
hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing}  Instead  of,  like 
Plato,  describing  the  earth  as  a  square  block,  it  rep- 
resents God  as  sitting  on  the  circle  of  the  earth  ;^  as 
setting  a  compass  (circle)  on  the  face  of  the  depth  f 
and  as  walking  in  the  circuit  (circle)  of  heaven.^  In- 
stead of,  like  Empedocles  and  many  other  ancient 
philosophers,  representing  the  heavens  as  a  solid 
mass,  it  describes  them  as  an  expanse* — something 
spread  out  like  a  curtain.^  Instead  of,  like  Plato 
and  Aristotle,  representing  the  stars  as  having  life 
and  activity,  it  declares  that  the  heavens  and  all  in- 
animate things  were  created  before  the  living  ani- 
mals,'^ and  thus  designates  all  the  celestial   bodies  as 

1  Job,  2G:  7.      ^  Is.  40:  22.      Trov.  8:  27.     "Job,  22:  14. 
5  Gen.  1:  G--8,  marg.      n^^.  40:  22.      ^  Geu.  1:  1,  14,  24. 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  57 

lifeless,  inactive  substances.  It  contains  no  absurd 
system  of  astrology,  such  as  was  in  vogue  among  the 
Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  and  other  ancient  nations;  it 
ascribes  no  magical  influence  to  the  luminaries  of 
the  night,  and  mentions  astrologers,  star-gazers  and 
monthly  prognosticators  only  to  deride  them.^  It 
speaks  not,  like  Herodotus,  of  the  sun  being  driven 
out  of  his  course  by  winter  storms,  but  represents 
him  as  running  his  accustomed  course  (circuit  or 
circle)  like  a  strong  man.^  It  tells  not,  like  the 
Hindu  writers,  of  an  ancient  king  reigning  one  bil- 
lion and  two  hundred  millions  of  years  (about  two 
hundred  thousand  times  longer  than  the  supposed 
duration  of  the  human  race),  nor  of  sixty  thousand 
sons  begotten  of  one  man,  born  in  a  pumpkin,  and 
nourished  in  pans  of  milk ;  but  it  gives  us  a  very 
reasonable  and  credible  chronology,  and  makes  no 
monstrous  representations  in  regard  to  the  longevity 
of  primitive  men,  and  the  rapidity  of  their  increase. 
It  never  represents  fire,  earth,  water,  or  air,  nor  all 
of  them  combined,  as  the  beginning  and  source  of  all 
things;  but  it  makes  the  simple  and  sublime  declara- 
tion, that  in  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth^  and  asserts  that  things  that  are  seen  were  not 
made  of  things  which  do  appear}  It  does  not,  like 
the  Koran,  represent  the  sun  as  setting  in  black 
mud,  but  declares  that  he  goes  on  continuously  in 
his  course;  after  his  setting,  hasting  to  his  place  of 


^  Is.  47 :  13.  2  pg^  19 .  5^  g^  3  q^^^  ^ .  ^^ 

*Heb.ll:  3.        ^Eccl.  1:  5. 


58  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

There  are  several  important  facts  mentioned  in  the 
Scriptures,  which  could  be  known  to  their  authors 
only  by  profound  scientific  investigation,  or  by  the 
peculiar  favor  of  Iieaven. 

One  of  these  facts  is  the  unity  of  the  human  race. 
The  Scriptures  teach  that  all  mankind  are  descended 
from  one  pair;^  and  that  God  hath  made  all  nations 
of  one  blood.^  This  truth  was  unknown  to  the 
ancients  or  was  disbelieved  by  them,  and  has  been 
called  in  question  even  in  modern  times.  But  by 
the  aid  of  physiology,  philology,  ethnology,  history, 
chemistry,  and  other  sciences,  the  unity  of  the  hu- 
man race  has  been  established  as  a  scientific  truth; 
disputed  or  doubted  only  by  Agassiz,  and  perhaps  a 
few  other  scientific  men. 

Another  truth,  which,  until  within  a  recent  period, 
rested  on  the  testimony  of  the  Bible  alone,  is  the  orig- 
inal sameness  of  human  language.  It  asserts  that 
originally  the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language  and 
one  speech.^  The  number  of  languages  spoken  among 
men,  and  their  apparent  diversity,  seem  inconsistent 
with  their  common  origin.  But  modern  philologists 
have  demonstrated  the  similarity  and  common  origin 
of  all  languages.  As  Dr.  Max  MiiUer  says,  in  this 
way  is  established  the  claim  of  a  common  descent, 
and  a  legitimate  relationship  between  Hindu,  Greek, 
and  Teuton. 

Another  fact  brought  to  view  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  demonstrated  by  modern  science,  is  the  countless 
multitude  of  the  stars.  The  Scriptures  again  and 
1  Gen.  1 :  28.     3 :  20.      ^  Acts,  17 :  26.       ^  Gen.  11 :  1. 


CONSISTENCY    WITH   SCIENCE.  59 

again  refer  to  them  as  innumerable.^  To  the  ordi- 
nary observer,  however,  only  about  a  thousand  stars 
are  visible,  and  the  whole  number  visible  in  both 
hemispheres  is  not  five  thousand.  But,  as  is  well 
known,  the  telescope  reveals  the  existence  of  millions 
and  millions  of  stars  scattered  through  the  depths  of 
space,  and  demonstrates  the  correctness  of  the  Bible 
ill  representing  them  as  innumerable. 

The  scientific  accuracy  of  the  Bible  is  farther  seen, 
in  its  ascribing  weight  to  the  wind  (atmosphere)  f  in 
its  representing  the  moon  as  standing  still  at  the 
same  time  with  the  sun  at  the  command  of  Joshua,^ 
a  matter  likely  to  be  overlooked  by  a  historian  ig- 
norant of  the  diurnal  revolution  of  the  earth;  in  its 
representing  light  as  having  an  existence  independent 
of  the  sun,^  a  fact  known  only  to  modern  naturalists; 
in  its  declariuii:  that  there  was  vesretation  before  the 
appearance  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens,^  a  fact  demon- 
strated by  modern  geology;  in  its  representing  the 
earth  as  containing  under  its  outer  crust  as  it  were 
fire,''  another  fact  taught  by  modern  geology;  in  its 
representing  the  mountains  as  being  raised  and  the 
valleys  as  being  depressed,^  which  accords  with  the 
teachinsrs  of  ereoloofical  science. 

The  scientific  accuracy  of  the  Scriptures  has  been 
recognized  by  many  distinguished  men.  Lord  Ba- 
con speaks  of  the  Book  of  Job,  the  Prophets,  and 
the  Mosaic  writings,  as  ^pregnant  and  swelling  with 

1  Gen.  15:  5.         ^j^^i^  28:  25.        ^j^^i^ k).  jo-lS. 
^Gen.  1:  3.  ^  Gen.  1:  11.        «  Job.  28:  5. 

'Ps.  104:  8,  marg. 


60  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE. 

natural  philosophy/  and  as  having  'great  aspersion 
of  natural  philosophy.'^  Baron  Humboldt,  in  ex- 
pressing his  astonishment  at  the  comprehensiveness 
and  accuracy  of  the  Scriptures,  makes  the  following 
remarkable  declaration  :  'The  meteorological  process- 
es which  take  place  in  the  atmosphere,  the  formation 
and  solution  of  vapor  according  to  the  changing  di- 
rection of  the  wind,  the  play  of  its  colors,  the  gener- 
ation of  hail  and  of  the  rolling  thunder,  are  described 
with  individualizing  accuracy;  and  many  questions 
are  propounded  which  we,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
physical  knowledge,  may,  indeed,  be  able  to  express 
under  more  scientific  definitions,  but  scarcely  to 
answer  satisfactorily.'^  We  thus  find,  that  the  sci- 
entific accuracy  w^ith  which  the  phenomena  of  the 
material  universe  are  delineated  in  the  poetry  of  the 
Bible,  excited  the  astonishment  of  one  who  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  entire  range  of  modern  science. 
This  testimony  will  doubtless  appear  to  some  to  be 
stronger,  from  the  fact  that  Humboldt  rejected  the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  The  declara- 
tions of  this  celebrated  man,  and  the  illustrations 
above  presented,  demonstrate  a  wide  difference  be- 
tween the  Bible  and  every  other  collection  of  writ- 
ings, both  ancient  and  modern.  Its  language  and 
statements  harmonize  with  scientific  truths  and  facts, 
which  were  unknown  to,  or  were  disbelieved  by  all 
the  ancient  poets,  historians,  philosophers,  and  learn- 
ed men.  We  may  challenge  the  opi)onents  of  super- 
uatural  inspiration  to  name  fifty  authors  of  any  age 

^  De  Aug.  B.  1.  Filum  Lab.  7.        '  Cos.  vol.  2,  p.  414. 


CONSISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  61 

or  nation,  or  of  all  ages  and  nations,  who  allude  to 
natural  phenomena  as  frequently  as  do  the  Biblical 
writers,  that  do  not  abound  with  contradictious  of 
science. 

The  sceptic  is  not  likely,  indeed,  to  admit  the  con- 
sistency of  the  Bible  with  science,  but  there  are  some 
facts  connected  with  this  subject  which  every  intelli- 
gent and  candid  man  will  admit. 

1.  It  is  an  undeniable  fact,  as  we  have  shown, 
that  ancient  and  modern  literature  abounds  in  scien- 
tific errors.  The  remains  of  Egyptian  literature, 
the  voluminous  writings  of  the  Hindus,  the  Persian 
Avesta,  the  books  of  the  Chinese  and  the  teachings 
of  Confucius,  the  Koran,  the  Jewish  Talmud,  and 
the  Apocryphal  Gospels,  the  best  productions  of  the 
Grecian  and  Roman  authors,  and  much  of  the  liter- 
ature of  modern  times,  are  characterized  by  such 
errors.  These  errors  are  great  and  numerous,  l^o 
intelligent  man  can  doubt  their  reality.  By  them 
the  divine  inspiration  claimed  for  the  Shasters,  the 
Talmud,  the  Avesta,  and  the  Koran,  is  disproved 
beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt.  Nor  is  there  any 
collection  of  writings,  ancient  or  modern,  except  the 
Scriptures,  whose  human  origin  is  not  demonstrated 
by  undeniable  inconsistencies  with  science. 

2.  It  is  also  an  undeniable  fact,  that  the  opponents 
of  the  supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Bible  have  la- 
bored long  and  hard  to  convince  mankind  that  it 
contains  scientific  errors.  Their  efforts  have  been, 
of  later  years,  directed  especially  to  establish  this 
point.     They  have  employed  history,  chronology,  as- 

6 


62  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

tronomy,  geology,  and  almost  every  other  science,  to- 
gether with  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  Chinese  tables, 
and  other  antiquarian  monuments;  have  written 
books,  reviews,  and  essays;  and  have  labored  learn- 
edly and  indefatigably  to  convict  the  Bible  of  scien- 
tific error.  The  very  necessity  of  making  so  great 
efforts  to  establish  this  point,  demonstrates  that  the 
Bible  is,  in  point  of  scientific  accuracy,  superior  to 
all  the  literary  collections  of  ancient  and  modern 
times.  It  would  be  possible,  with  half  the  effort,  or 
with  no  effort  at  all,  to  prove  the  scientific  inaccuracy 
of  every  other  collection  of  writings. 

3.  It  is  another  undeniable  fact  that  infidels,  with 
all  their  learned  and  protracted  efforts  to  convince 
the  world  that  the  Bible  contradicts  science,  if  they 
have  not  signally  failed,  have  had,  to  say  the  least, 
but  very  partial  success.  Undoubtedly  some  per- 
sons have  been  led,  on  this  ground,  to  disbelieve  its 
plenary  inspiration.  But  scarcely,  at  any  time,  in 
any  country,  have  the  majority  of  the  people  been 
infidels.  It  is  not  certain  that  a  majority  of  the 
French  even  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  or  of 
the  Germans  at  the  beginning  of  the  present,  were  in- 
fidels. It  is  undeniable,  however,  that  with  scarcely 
an  exception,  the  enlightened  nations  have  regarded 
the  Bible  as  a  super-human  book.  During  eighteen 
centuries,  infidels  have  been  largely  in  the  minoritv. 
During  eif!:hteen  centuries  the  great  majority  of  intel- 
ligent people  and  learned  men  have  believed  in  the 
supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  Such, 
too,  is  the  belief  of  the  majority  of  intelligent  ])eoj)le 
and  learned  men  now  living.     If  the  Bible  contains 


COi^SISTENCY   WITH   SCIENCE.  63 

scientific  errors,  not  only  have  they  escaped  the  no- 
tice of  the  majority  of  the  most  gifted  and  learned  of 
mankind;  but  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  science  have  failed  to  see  them,  after  what  are 
claimed  as  such  have  been  pointed  out.  Such  men 
as  Xewton,  Locke,  Grotius,  Sir  W.  Jones,  Cuvier, 
Miller,  Buckland,  Hitchcock,  Silliman,  Brewster, 
Schlegel,  Chalmers,  Tholuck,  and  a  host  of  others 
deeply  versed  in  modern  literature  and  science,  after 
reading  the  Bible  carefully,  and  hearing  all  that  in- 
fidels have  to  say,  declare,  that  between  its  state- 
ments and  the  teachings  of  science  they  see  no  con- 
tradiction. 

These  are  facts  which  every  intelligent  person 
must  admit.  But  if  the  Bible  be  merely  a  human 
book,  the  infidel  ought  to  be  able  to  point  out  un- 
mistakable scientific  errors  in  it,  as  in  all  other 
ancient  books.  It  is  certainly  a  strange  and  won- 
derful thing,  that  those  fifty  old  Hebrew  authors,  in 
their  simplicity  or  cunning,  m  their  ignorance  or 
knowledge,  should  write  on  almost  all  kinds  of  sub- 
jects in  such  a  way,  as  to  be  regarded  by  many  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  of  science  as  completely 
accurate  and  infallible,  and  so  as  to  baffle  all  the 
efforts  of  sceptical  learning  and  genius  to  convict 
them  before  the  world  of  one  scientific  mistake. 
When  we  consider  how  the  writings  of  all  other 
ancient  authors,  even  the  most  learned  and  gifted, 
and  also  much  of  the  literature  of  modern  times, 
abound  in  scientific  errors  and  even  absurdities — 
errors  and  absurdities  that  are  admitted  at  once  and 
on  all  hands  to  be  such;  and  when  we  further  con- 


64  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE. 

sider  that,  after  all  that  has  been  said  and  written 
by  the  opponents  of  plenary  inspiration,  the  verdict 
of  the  enlightened  world  is,  that  the  Bible  is  entirely 
consistent  with  science ;  its  merely  human  and  Jewish 
origin  appears  altogether  unaccountable. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

THE   LITERARY   EXCELLENCE    OF    THE   SEEMINGLY 
LEAST   VALUABLE   PORTIONS   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

Considerable  portions  of  the  Bible  are  not  only 
destitute  of  beauty  and  eloquence,  but  these  also  deal 
in  minute  details,  that  doubtless  appear  to  many  as 
uninteresting  and  worthless.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  book  of  Leviticus  and  such  other  portions  as 
treat  of  the  laws,  regulations,  ceremonies,  and  other 
internal  affairs  of  the  Jewish  natioii.  Yet  these  por- 
tions of  the  Scriptures  are  really  rich  in  historic  in- 
formation. They  make  us  acquainted  with  the  civil 
and  criminal  laws,  the  military,  municipal,  and  san- 
itary regulations,  the  religious  ideas  and  rites,  the 
social  and  domestic  customs  and  manners,  of  a  very 
ancient  and  remarkable  people.  Legislative  enact- 
ments, the  regulations  of  cities  and  military  camps 
in  regard  to  health  and  cleanliness,  statutes  in  regard 
to  garbage  and  slaughter-pens,  the  accounts  of  the 
construction  and  management  of  sinks  and  sewers, 
and  other  such  matters,  certainly  do  not  constitute 
tasteful  and  attractive  reading.  But  it  is  thus  that 
we  are  enabled  to  know  the  condition  and  progress 
of  a  nation,  and  what  kind  of  life  they  lived.  The 
duty  of  the  historian  is  not  merely  to  tell  us  of 
mighty  kings  and  warriors,  and  of  battles  and 
6*  Go 


66  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

sieges,  but  to  make  us  acquainted  with  the  charac- 
ter, the  thoughts,  the  actions,  the  every-day  life,  of 
the  people.  The  ideas  that  once  prevailed  in  regard 
to  the  digrdty  of  histonj  have  happily  passed  away, 
and  historians  have  learned  to  treat  of  ordinary  mat- 
ters, as  do  the  Biblical  writers.  Often  do  literary 
men  visit  the  sites  of  ancient  cities  in  order  to  secure 
just  such  items  of  knowledge  as  the  less  interesting 
and  seemingly  less  valuable  portions  of  the  Bible 
contain.  They  chase  the  owls,  bats,  and  hyenas 
from  their  dwelling-places;  dig  among  the  ruins  of 
walls,  palaces,  temples,  and  altars;  and  when,  after 
great  labor,  they  find  some  half-rotten  column,  or  a 
fragment  of  some  old  rust-eaten  pot  or  cup,  bearing 
the  inscription  of  a  few  letters  or  hieroglyphics,  they 
rejoice  as  one  that  finds  a  long-lost  treasure,  hoping 
to  decipher  the  half-effaced  characters,  and  make  out 
the  decree  of  some  Egyptian  or  Babylonian  despot 
concerning  his  fish-ponds,  or  the  livery  of  his  ser- 
vants. Every  thing  that  illustrates  the  religious 
and  moral  ideas,  or  the  manners  and  customs,  of  the 
Egyptians,  Hindus,  Persians,  and  other  ancient  na- 
tions, is  considered  valuable.  For  books  that  would 
make  us  minutely  acquainted  with  their  laws,  reli- 
gions, and  customs;  their  style  of  dress,  their  mode 
of  preparing  food,  treating  the  sick,  and  burying  the 
dead;  the  form  and  size  of  their  drinking- vessels 
and  soup-dishes;  their  forms  of  betrothal,  mar- 
riage, and  divorce;  and  everything  pertaining  to 
their  every-day  life, — literary  men  would  make  al- 
most any  sacrifice.  To  obtain  them,  they  would  en- 
danfjer  health  and  life,  traverse  continents,  sail  round 


VALUE  OF  THE  LESS  IMPORTANT  PARTS.   67 

the  globe,  and  dig  into  the  very  bowels  of  the  earth. 

Now,  the  Bible  gives  us  in  regard  to  the  Jews, 
precisely  the  information  which  is  so  highly  valued, 
and  so  eagerly  sought  after,  in  regard  to  other  ancient 
nations.  The  minuteness  w^th  which  it  recounts  the 
civil,  military,  and  criminal  laws,  the  sanitary  regu- 
lations and  ceremonial  observances,  of  that  peculiar 
j)eople,  is  in  reality  one  of  its  excellences.  Some  of 
their  regulations  and  ceremonies  may  seem  strange 
and  outlandish — as  those  in  reg^ard  to  the  distinction 
of  meats,  the  leprosy,  and  the  purification  of  women, 
must  do,  if  their  sanitary  character  and  moral  sig- 
niiicancy  be  overlooked;  but  this  does  not  detract 
from  the  literary  value  of  the  books  which  faith- 
fully record  them.  Since  the  historical  details  which 
make  us  acquainted  with  the  theological  and  moral 
ideas,  political  laws,  religious  rites,  and  the  manners 
and  customs  and  modes  of  living,  of  ancient  and 
])owerfuI  nations,  are  regarded  as  important  and 
valuable;  much  more  important  and  valuable  are 
such  details  in  regard  to  the  nation  from  whom  the 
whole  enlightened  portion  of  mankind  have  received 
their  theology  and  morality. 

But  the  portions  of  Scripture,  which  seem  to  many 
persons  so  uninteresting  and  valueless  are  not  des- 
titute even  of  poetic  beauty.  In  this  respect,  the 
law-books  of  the  Jews  are  unlike  those  of  any 
other  nation.  What,  in  a  literary  point  of  view,  is 
a  legislative  journal,  or  a  modern  statute-book? 
They  arc  composed  of  minute  details  concerning 
taxes,  jails,  school-houses,  wharf-boats,  stray  mules, 
and   shccp-killing    dogs;    and   are    as    destitute    of 


68  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

poetic  beauty  and  sublimity  as  is  the  desert  of  Sa- 
hara of  grass  and  flowers.  None  but  lawyers  and 
politicians,  whose  business  compels  thera,  reads  such 
books.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  law-books  of  the 
Bible.  They  contain  many  gems  of  poetic  beauty, 
and  strains  of  soul-stirring  eloquence.  The  closing 
chapters  of  Deuteronomy,  especially,  are  character- 
ized by  beauty  and  grandeur.  In  the  song  of  Moses, 
there  recorded,  his  Svords  drop  as  the  rain,  and  his 
speech  distills  as  the  dew.'^ 

The  law-books  of  the  Jews  have  another  excel- 
lence which  distinguishes  them  from  those  of  other 
nations; — they  mingle  useful  and  grand  moral  truths 
with  the  minute  details  of  criminal,  military,  and 
sanitary  regulations.  The  fact  that  they  contain  the 
Ten  Commandments — a  code,  in  which  the  wisdom 
and  learning  and  philosophy  of  the  world  have  not 
been  able  to  discover  any  error  or  suggest  any  im- 
provement— renders  this  portion  of  the  Bible  more 
important  and  valuable  than  all  the  other  judicial 
books  of  the  world,  or  than  the  entire  literature  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians,  Hindus,  Grecians,  Komans, 
and  all  the  ancient  nations,  combined. 

"When  we  come  to  speak  of  the  political  excellence 
of  the  Scriptures,  we  will  show  that  these  old  law- 
books have  exerted  a  beneficial  and  powerful  influ- 
ence on  the  politics  and  legislation  of  the  world. 
Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  that  the  Mosaic  regula- 
tions concerning  the  distinction  of  meats,  corporeal 
uncleanness,  and  the  rites  of  purification,  not  only 
had  a  sanitary  character,  but  were  also  designed  to 

^Deut.  32:  2. 


VALUE  OF  THE  LESS  IMPORTANT  PARTS.   69 

teach  a  debased  people  the  nature  and  necessity  of 
moral  purity;  and  hence  the  literary  excellence  of 
the  books  containing  them  consists,  in  the  faithful- 
ness and  accuracy  with  which  they  are  recorded. 

The  portions  of  Scripture,  then,  seemingly  of  the 
least  value,  are  rich  in  historic  information  concern- 
ing an  ancient  and  remarkable  people  who  are  the 
theological  and  moral  teachers  of  mankind;  abound 
in  snatches  of  sublime  poetry;  and  contain  many 
grand  moral  utterances:  and  hence  they  constitute 
a  very  important  and  valuable  part  of  the  world^s 
literature. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

EICHNESS   OF   THE   BIBLE   IN   GRAND   AND 
BEAUTIFUL   SUBJECTS. 

It  will  enable  us  better  to  appreciate  the  literary 
superiority  of  the  Bible  over  other  books,  if  we  com- 
pare the  subjects  treated  of  in  it  with  those  treated 
of  by  the  Hindu,  Grecian,  and  Roman  authors.  We 
speak  of  Hindu,  Grecian,  and  Roman  authors;  be- 
cause it  is  but  fair  to  compare  the  writers  of  the 
Bible  with  the  writers  who  lived  nearest  their  own 
times,  and  because  modern  literature  has  been  largely 
enriched  from  its  abundant  stores. 

In  one  of  the  preceding  chapters,  we  alluded  to 
the  frivolous  subjects  of  many  of  the  Vedic  hymns — 
celebrating  the  praises  of  the  hawk,  partridge,  mortar 
and  pestle,  and  even  the  wheel-barrow!  Other  por- 
tions of  Hindu  literature  treat  of  absurd  and  indecent 
cosmogonies  and  mythologies,  and  licentious  and  de- 
basing loves  and  passions.  The  Grecian  and  Roman 
j^oets  sing  of  love,  war,  and  glory;  of  the  jealousies, 
and  resentments,  and  licentious  amours  of  Jupiter 
and  Apollo,  Juno  and  Venus,  and  other  imaginary 
gods,  male  and  female;  and  of  the  fierce  passions, 
daring  encounters,  shocking  crimes,  and  the  successes 
and  misfortunes,  of  men  remarkable,  not  for  intel- 
lectual vigor  or  moral  worth,  but  only  for  their 
70 


EICHNESS  IN  GRAND  AND  BEAUTIFUL  SUBJECTS.    71 

physical  strength  and  courage.  They  describe  the 
garden  of  the  Hesperides,  with  its  golden  apples,  and 
guarded  by  a  dragon  with  a  hundred  heads;  the 
Elysium,  with  its  meadows  and  streams  and  singing 
birds,  where  the  dead  Achilles  waged  war  with  wild 
beasts,  where  the  slaughtered  Trojan  chiefs  amused 
themselves  with  horses  and  arms,  and  where  the 
voluptuary  and  debauchee  pursued  the  same  gratifi- 
cations as  he  had  done  while  on  earth ;  Gorgons  and 
Plydras  dealing  death  and  destruction;  and  battles 
in  which  gigantic  Titans,  one-eyed  Cyclops,  or  Cen- 
taurs— half-man  and  half-horse — were  antasfonists. 

The  Bible  treats  of  subjects  infinitely  more  noble 
and  exalted — the  unity,  the  infinite  power  and  good- 
ness, the  dreadful  holiness  and  sovereignty,  and  the 
awful  majesty  of  the  Godhead;  the  creation  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth;  the  innocence  and  liappiness 
of  the  first  pair  as  they  dwelt  amid  the  flowers  and 
fruits  of  Eden ;  the  fall  of  the  angels ;  the  fall,  guilt, 
and  ruin  of  man;  the  brevity  and  wretchedness  of 
human  life;  the  dreadfulness  of  future  punishment 
in  the  lake  burning  with  fire  and  brimstone;  the 
worth  of  the  human  soul;  the  futility  of  human 
merit;  the  love  and  condescension  of  Jesus;  his  per- 
fect and  glorious  character;  his  mysterious  agony  in 
the  garden  of  Gcthsemane,  and  his  death  on  the 
cross;  his  glorious  resurrection  and  ascension;  the 
organization  of  the  New  Testament  church  and  the 
progress  of  Christianity  in  apostolic  times;  the  thou- 
sand years  of  universal  righteousness  and  peace;  the 
coming  of  the  Son  of  God  to  judge  the  world  at  tHe 
last  day;  the  raising  of  the  dead;  the  assembling  of 


72  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

all  nations  before  the  great  white  throne;  the  de- 
parture of  the  wicked  into  everlasting  fire;  the  eter- 
nal happiness  of  the  righteous;  their  crowns  of  glory- 
that  shall  never  fade  away;  and  the  beauty  and  gran- 
deur of  the  heavenly  city  with  its  pearly  gates,  its 
golden  streets,  and  its  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life 
clear  as  crystal,  all  flashing  in  the  light  and  glory- 
that  shine  from  the  face  of  God. 

The  richness  of  the  Bible  in  grand  and  beautiful 
subjects,  is  further  demonstrated  by  the  fact,  that 
modern  authors  have  borrowed  so  much  from  it. 
Milton  and  Bunyan  were  indebted  to  it  for  the  lead- 
ing ideas  in  their  immortal  works.  We  neither 
deny  their  originality,  nor  accuse  them  of  plagiar- 
ism. Macaulay  says,  that  though  there  were  many 
clever  men  in  England  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  there  were  but  two  creative 
minds;  and  that  one  of  these  produced  the  Paradise 
Lost,  and  the  other  the  Pilgrim^s  Progress}  But 
these  great  writers  did  not  produce  the  grand  themes 
on  which  they  wrote.  These  were  already  produced 
to  their  hand  in  the  Scriptures.  Milton  in  his  great 
poem  wrote 

*  Of  man's  first  disobedience,  and  the  fruit 
Of  that  forbidden  tree,  whose  mortal  taste 
Brought  death  into  the  world  and  all  our  woe, 
^Vith  loss  of  Eden,  till  one  greater  man 
Restore  us  and  regain  the  blissful  seat.' 

But  it  is  only  in  the  Bible  that  'the  height  of  this 
great  argument'  is  made  known  to  men;  and   but 

*  Essay  on  Pilgrim's  Progress. 


RICHNESS  IX  GRAND  AND  BEAUTIFUL  SUBJECTS.    73 

for  the  Bible,  the  Paradise  Lost  could  never  have 
been  written.  It  is  a  suggestive  f^ict,  that  more  than 
a  thousand  years  before  Milton's  time,  his  chief  work 
was  anticipated  by  a  writer  much  inferior  to  him 
in  poetic  genius.  Saint  Avitus,  bishop  of  Vienne  in 
France,  born  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century, 
wrote  six  poems,  three  of  which  were  on  the  Crea- 
tioUj  Original  Sin,  and  the  Expulsion  from  Paradise. 
This  triad  of  poems,  Guizot  declares,^  should  in  jus- 
tice be  called  Paradise  Lost;  their  resemblance  to 
that  work,  in  subject,  general  conception,  and  even 
some  of  the  more  important  details,  being  so  strik- 
ing. This  resemblance  certainly  did  not  result  from 
the  imitation  of  the  poems  of  the  French  bishop  by 
the  English  poet.  As  Guizot  suggests,  Milton  was 
probably  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  such  poems. 
The  resemblance  is  fully  accounted  for  by  the  fact, 
that  both  these  authors  drew  their  subjects,  and 
many  of  their  conceptions,  from  the  same  source — 
the  Bible. 

Bunyan  also  drew  his  subjects,  and  a  large  part 
of  the  details  of  his  great  work,  from  the  Bible. 
All  the  prominent  ideas  contained  in  the  Pllgriin's 
Progress  have  a  Scripture  origin.  The  Christian 
as  a  pilgrim,  the  Christian  life  as  a  journey,  the  sin- 
ner clothed  with  rags,  and  sin  as  a  burden  on  his 
back,  the  City  of  Destruction,  and  the  Celestial  City, 
the  Wicket  Gate,  the  Cross  and  the  Sepulchre,  the 
valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death,  the  Delectable  Moun- 
tains, the  land  of  Beulah,  the  Elver  without  a  bridge 
and  very  deep,  and  the  celestial   Gate  beyond  it; — 

1  Hist,  of  Civ.  Lect.  18. 
7 


74  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

all  these  ideas  are  taken  directly  from  the  Scriptures. 

Another  great  writer,  who  borrowed  much  from 
the  Bible,  is  Dante.  The  visions  and  conceptions 
of  the  prophets  and  bards  of  Israel,  are  found  run- 
ning all  through  the  Divine  Comedy.  Schlegel  names 
him  first  among  the  Christian  poets  who  took  their 
subjects,  or  their  models,  from  the  Scriptures.^ 

The  main  excellence  of  these  great  works — the 
Divine  Comedy,  Paradise  Lost,  and  Pilgrim^ s  Pro- 
gress — consists  in  the  grandeur  of  their  subjects,  and 
in  their  rich  profusion  of  beautiful  and  sublime  con- 
ceptions and  ideas.  The  poetry  of  Homer — the 
greatest  poet  of  antiquity — is  attractive  mainly  by 
its  language  and  imagery.  Its  chief  design  is,  to 
celebrate  the  courage  and  bloody  deeds  of  half-savage 
warriors.  Its  subjects,  conceptions,  and  mere  story, 
when  compared  with  those  of  the  above-mentioned 
works,  are  insignificant  and  mean.  This  fact  de- 
monstrates the  surpassing  excellence  of  the  literary 
topics  treated  of  in  the  Bible,  since  to  it  the  authors 
of  these  works  were  indebted  for  their  subjects  and 
general  conceptions — subjects  and  conceptions  which, 
by  comparison,  make  those  of  the  greatest  poets  of 
ancient  times  appear  trifling  and  contemptible. 

But  not  only  did  Dante,  Milton,  and  Bunyan, 
draw  subjects  and  conceptions  from  the  Bible;  so 
also  have  nearly  all  modern  poets.  The  Olney 
Hymns  of  Cowper  have  not  only  Bible  subjects,  but 
also  contain  many  ideas,  truths,  figures,  and  expres- 
sions, taken  from  the  same  source.  The  same  re- 
mark may  be  made  in  regard  to  PoUok's   Course  oj 

^  Hist,  of  Literature,  Lect.  9. 


ETCHXESS  IN  GRAND  AND  BEAUTIFUL  SUBJECTS.    75 

Time;  the  subject  and  conceptions  of  which  poem 
are  j^rand,  though  it  is  especially  deficient  in  the 
simplicity  which  characterizes  the  poetry  of  the 
Bible.  Henry  Kirke  AVhite  wrote  many  pieces  on 
Scriptural  subjects.  One  of  his  best  pieces  is  his 
Star  of  Bethlehem.  Many  of  AVillis'  pieces  also  are 
on  Bible  subjects;  such  as,  his  Sacrifice  of  Abraham, 
Christ's  Entrance  into  Jerusalem,  Hagar  in  the  Wilder- 
ness, The  Death  of  Absalom,  and  others.  The  titles 
of  some  of  Landon's  poems  are  as  follows;  St.  John 
in  the  Wilderness,  The  Nativity  of  Christ,  Christ  Bless- 
ing  the  Bread,  Christ  Blessing  Little  Children,  and 
Christ  croioned  with  Thorns.  Mrs.  Hemans  has 
poems  on  Christ^ s  Agony  in  the  Garden,  The  Hebrew 
Ilother,  The  Wings  of  a  Dove  (Ps.  55:  6),  The 
Angels'  Call,  and  The  Voice  of  God.  We  have 
Po})e's  Messiah,  Young^s  Last  Day  and  Paraphrase 
of  the  Booh  of  Job,  James  Montgomery's  Psalms  and 
Elijah  in  the  Wilderness,  and  Mil  man's  Belshazzar  and 
Fall  of  Jerusalem.  Dry  den's  Absalom  and  Ahithophel 
is  founded  on  Bible  history.  In  Ivanhoe,  one  of  the 
best  of  Scott's  novels,  the  heroine,  Rebecca,  is  a  He- 
brew character;  and  her  hymn  is  a  Hebrew  hymn. 
We  have  Moore's  Sacred  Songs  and  Byron's  Hebrew 
Melodies, — unchristian  poets  though  they  were.  We 
have  Voltaire's  Saul  and  Samson,  as  well  as  Milton's 
Samson  Agonistes.  As  we  will  hereafter  show,  Vol- 
taire was  indebted  to  the  Bible  for  the  subjects  and 
conceptions  of  his  most  successful  tragedies,  his  Zaire 
and  Alzire.  We  will  also  show  that  Gothe  appreci- 
ated the  rich  store  of  literary  subjects  contained  in 
the  Bible,  and  borrowed  from  it.     The  first  part  of 


76  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

his  Faust  is  from  tlie  opening  chapters  of  the  Book 
of  Job.  The  g^eat  work  of  Kiopstock — the  founder 
of  modern  German  literature — is  tlie  Messiah;  the 
subject  and  general  conceptions  of  which,  like  those 
of  Paradise  Lost,  are  taken  from  the  Bible.  Cald- 
eron,  the  great  Spanish  poet,  has  many  pieces  on 
Scripture  subjects,  such  as  his  Lochs  of  Absalom,  Bel- 
shazzar^s  Feast,  Gideon^s  Fleece,  The  Sheaves  of  Ruth, 
The  Wheat  and  the  Tares,  and  a  large  number  of 
others.  We  may  adduce  also  the  poems  of  Edward 
Henry  Bickersteth,  (published  within  the  present 
year,)  who  is  greatly  admired  by  many,  and  who 
certainly  as  a  poetic  waiter  is  not  without  merit. 
We  refer  especially  to  his  Samson,  Nineveh,  FzeJciel, 
and  John  Baptist;  not  to  mention  his  larger  poem, 
Yesterday,  To-day,  and.  For-ever. 

These  statements  might  be  much  extended;  but 
those  instances  already  given  may  serve  to  inform 
or  remind  tlie  reader,  of  the  large  indebtedness  of 
eminent  modern  authors  to  the  Bible  for  their  sub- 
jects. The  poets  of  Great  Britain,  America,  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  Spain,  and  almost  every  land,  have 
gone  to  the  Bible  to  find  subjects  for  tragedies,  epics, 
lyrics,  oratorios,  and  almost  every  species  of  compo- 
sition. For  more  than  a  thousand  years,  the  master 
minds  in  literature  have  taken  from  it  their  noblest 
subjects;  and  its  abundant  stores  are  not  yet  ex- 
hausted. This  fact  demonstrates  how  rich  this  won- 
derful book  is  in  literary  subjects — subjects  beautiful, 
dignified,  and  grand;  worthy  of  all  the  honors  and 
ornaments  which  the  hand  of  <renius  can  bestow. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

INDEBTEDNESS   OF   LITERATURE    AND    LITERARY 
MEN   TO   THE   BIBLE. 

The  subject  announced  in  the  heading  of  this 
chapter  has  already  been  in  part  ilhistrated.  In 
the  preceding  chapter  we  have  adverted  to  the  fact, 
that  many  of  the  most  celebrated  authors  of  modern 
times  borrowed  their  subjects  and  grandest  concep- 
tions from  the  Bible.  Modern  literature  and  liter- 
ary men  are  indebted  to  the  Bible  in  various  other 
respects.  But  this  subject  can  be  best  illustrated 
by  considering  national  literatures  separately. 

1.  English  Literature. 
Xot  only  did  Milton  and  Bunyan  borrow  their 
subjects  and  general  conceptions  from  the  Bible,  but 
also  their  ideas  and  figures  are  often  taken  from  the 
same  source.  Milton  was  indeed  a  learned  poet,  and 
borrowed  much  from  the  Greek  and  Roman  authors. 
But  he  borrowed  still  more  from  the  Bible.  The 
whole  of  his  chief  poem  may  be  said  to  be  founded 
on  it.  It  contains  much  of  Scripture  imagery  and 
history.  Its  very  language  indicates  the  profound 
acquaintance  of  its  author  with  the  sacred  writings. 
From  them  he  derived  that  solemnity  and  majesty 
of  style  in  which  he  cj^els  all  other  poets,  except 
those  of  the  ancient  Hebrews.  His  wonderful  poem 
7*  77 


78  LITERARY   EXCELLEXCE. 

is  cliaractcrizcd  througliout  by  Bible  subjects,  Bible 
conee])tions,  Bible  figures,  Bible  scenes,  Bible  epi- 
sodes, and  Bible  language.  Bunyan  also  was  in- 
debted to  the  Bible  for  much  more  than  his  subject 
and  general  conceptions.  It  was  almost  the  only 
literary  book  which  he  read.  His  mind  was  filled 
with  its  scenes  and  figures.  His  soul  drank  in  its 
sentiments  and  spirit.  His  language  and  style  were 
modeled  after  the  common  translation.  In  short,  of 
the  PUgrim^s  Progress — which  Macaulay  has  called 
*the  highest  miracle  of  genius' — it  may  be  said,  that 
not  only  its  subject  and  general  conception,  but  its 
ideas,  imagery,  s])irit,  language,  style, — every  thing 
on  W'hicli  its  literary  excellence  depends, — are  taken 
largely  from  the  Bible.  We  need  not  speak  particu- 
larly of  Cowper — the  poet  of  mild  beauty — whom 
Coleridge  declared  the  greatest  of  modern  poets. 
He  is  universally  recognized  as  one  of  the  Christian 
poets,  who  garlanded  with  flowers  the  cross  of  Jesus, 
and  minsfled  with  his  own  music  the  strains  which 
he  learned  of  the  apostles  and  prophets.  Byron  was 
a  great  admirer  of  the  Bible  as  a  literary  composi- 
tion. It  is  one  of  the  four  books  which  he  kept 
constantly  on  his  table.  He  committed  to  memory 
many  of  the  Psalms  in  early  childhood,  and  studied 
Lowth  on  Hebrew  poetry  all  his  life.^  It  is  asserted 
that,  though  he  often  ridiculed  and  reviled  revealed 
religion,  he  yet  read  the  Bible  more  faithfully  and 
statedly  than  most  Christians.^  He  made  large  use 
of  it  in  the  composition  of  some  of  his  works.     The 

*  Moore's  Life  of  Cyron,  p.  8.  ,      ^  Literature  and  Lit.  Men, 
p.  48. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       79 

sweetness  of  his  Hebrew  Melodies  is  drawn  from  the 
Psahiis.  The  subject  of  his  Heaven  and  Earth,  which 
Hazlitt  declares  his  best  piece,  is  the  same  with  that 
of  jNIoore^s  Loves  of  the  Angels,  and  is  taken  from  the 
Scriptures.  So  also  is  the  subject  of  his  Cain,  In 
both  these  pieces  he  employs  also  ideas  and  figures 
taken  from  the  Scriptures,  or  suggested  by  them. 
A  considerable  portion  of  his  Ode  to  Napoleon  is  an 
ijnitation  of  Isaiah's  description  of  the  fall  of  the 
king  of  Babylon. 

The  poet  Shelley,  who  at  one  period  of  his  life, 
and  perhaps  in  his  mature  years,  was  an  avowed 
atheist,  and  wdio  declared  Christianity  an  execrable 
thing,  was  yet,  like  Byron,  a  great  admirer  of  the 
Bible  as  a  composition.  When  it  was  reported 
(though  incorrectly,)  that  at  the  time  he  was  drown- 
ed he  had  a  copy  of  the  Bible  next  his  heart,  Byron 
declared  that  it  w^as  quite  probable,  from  his  known 
admiration  of  it.  His  admiration  for  the  Bible,  and 
his  acquaintance  with  it,  are  evinced  by  his  writings. 
The  Bible  is  the  only  book  from  which  he  quotes  in 
his  preface  to  the  Revolt  of  Islam,  his  first  piece. 
He  mentions  the  translators  of  the  Bible  first,  and 
then  Shakespeare,  along  with  Spencer,  the  drama- 
tists of  the  age  of  Elizabeth  and  Bacon,  as  ^  those 
mighty  intellects  which  Great  Britain  has  produced 
since  the  Reformation.'  In  the  poem  itself  there  is 
much  taken  from  the  Bible.  The  battle  between  the 
Uagle  and  the  Serpent,  the  beautiful  Woman  with 
the  Serpent  coiled  in  her  bosom,  Man  murdering  his 
Brother,  the  conflict  between  the  Spirit  of  Good  and 
the  Spirit  of  Evil,  the  Golden  City,  the  black  Tartar- 


80  LITERARY  EXCELLENCE. 

ean  Horse  with  a  rider  like  an  Angel  rohed  in  white, 
the  Smoke  by  day  and  Fire  by  night,  and  other  ideas 
and  figures,  beside  direct  quotations,  are  eitlier  taken 
from  the  Bible  or  suggested  by  it.  Were  all  the 
Scripture  ideas  and  imagery  taken  away  from  the 
poem,  its  beauty  would  all  be  gone. 

The  great  English  dramatist,  though  he  mainly 
wrote  tragedies — a  species  of  composition  unknown 
to  the  Hebrew  writers,  and  almost  the  only  si)ecies 
of  composition  not  found  in  the  Scriptures — never- 
theless often  makes  quotations  from  them.  The 
writer  has  in  his  library  a  book  in  which  this  fact  is 
clearly  exhibited.^  It  is  an  octavo  volume  of  more 
than  200  pages,  and  is  mainly  filled  with  quotations 
of  'Moral  Sentences'  from  Shakespeare,  and  with 
the  passages  of  Scripture  from  which  they  were 
taken,  or  to  which  they  correspond.  The  compiler 
remarks  concerning  these  quotations,  that  'they  pre- 
sent incontestable  proofs  that  the  great  poet  was 
fully  read  in  Holy  Writ,  and  that  his  mind  was 
most  sensibly  imbued  with  the  sublimity  and  hal- 
lowed character  of  the  Sacred  Writings.'  In  all 
that  he  wrote  there  is  no  sentiment  contrary  to  their 
teachings,  or  in  opposition  to  their  inspiration  and 
divine  character.  He  presents  the  same  views  of 
human  weakness,  depravity,  and  guilt,  as  the  Bibli- 
cal authors.  He  resembled  the  old  Hebrew  bards 
and  prophets  in  his  broad  simplicity,  homely  wis- 

^  Moral  Sentences  culled  from  the  Works  of  Sbatespcaro, 
compared  with  Sacred  Passages,  drawn  from  Holy  Writ, 
dedicated  to  the  Shakespeare  Society,  by  a  Member:  Second 
Edition:  London. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.      81 

(lorn,  straight-forward  plainness,  earnest  thought, 
atid  profound  conviction.  This  resemblance  was 
due,  in  part  at  least,  to  the  influence  of  the  Bible 
u[)on  him,  either  directly,  or  indirectly  through  the 
age  and  society  in  which  he  lived.  Whatever  may 
have  been  his  creed  and  conduct,  whatever  he  may 
have  been  as  a  man,  Shakespeare  was  a  Christian 
poet. 

English  prose  writers  have  also  borrowed  much 
from  the  Bible;  of  which  we  have  space  to  present 
only  a  few  illustrations.  Few  English  writers  in 
modern  times  have  been  more  generally  read  and 
admired  than  Macaulay.  He  is  admitted  to  be  one 
of  our  clearest,  strongest,  and  most  beautiful  writers. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  reading;  being  especially 
familiar  with  the  Grecian,  Roman,  and  English  clas- 
sics. But  he  was  also  well  read  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  he  admired  them  for  their  sublimity.  His  al- 
lusions to  and  quotations  from  them  are  very  fre- 
quent. In  his  Essays,  he  quotes  more  frequently 
from  them  than  from  any  other  book,  or  from  all 
other  books  together.  He  employs  Bible  language 
and  figures  generally  without  acknowledgment,  and 
])erhaps  often  unconsciously.  For  instance,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  progress  of  truth,  he  sa3's;  *  Faint  glimps- 
es of  truth  begin  to  appear,  and  shine  more  and  more 
unto  the  perfect  day.  The  highest  intellects,  like  the 
tops  of  mountains,  are  the  first  to  catch  and  to  reflect 
the  dawn.  They  are  bright,  while  the  level  below  is 
still  in  darkness.'^  The  force  of  this  passage  depends 
^  Essay  on  Mackintosh's  History. 


82  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

on  the  words  which  we  have  placed  in  italics,  and 
which  Macaulay  took  from  the  book  of  Proverbs/ 
unconsciously  perhaps,  certainly  without  acknowl- 
edgment. Again,  in  summing  up  the  character  of 
Barrere,  he  says :  ^  Whatsoever  things  are  false, 
whatsoever  thino-s  are  dishonest,  whatsoever  thins^s 
are  unjust,  whatsoever  things  are  impure,  whatso- 
ever things  are  of  evil  report,  if  there  be  any  vice, 
if  there  be  any  infamy,  all  these  things,  we  know, 
were  blended  in  Barrere.'^  For  this  sentence,  in 
which  the  author  wished  to  pour  out  his  indignation 
and  abhorrence  in  one  pointed  and  powerful  expres- 
sion, he  was  indebted  to  the  apostle  Paul.^  The 
most  eloquent  passage  in  the  writings  of  Macaulay 
is,  perhaps,  his  description  of  the  character  of  the 
Puritans : — ^  If  they  were  unacquainted  with  the 
works  of  philosophers  and  poets,  they  were  deeply 
read  in  tJie  oracles  of  God.  If  their  names  were  not 
found  in  the  registers  of  heralds,  they  felt  assured 
that  they  were  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Life.  If 
their  steps  were  not  accompanied  by  a  splendid  train 
of  menials,  Icc/lons  of  minidcr'mg  angels  had  charge 
over  them.  Their  palaces  were  houses  not  made  icitli 
hands:  their  diadems  crowns  of  glory  ichich  should 
never  fade  aicaj/.  On  the  rich  and  the  eloquent,  on 
nobles  and  })riests,  they  looked  down  with  contcm])t; 
for  they  esteemed  themselves  rich  in  a  more  precious 
treasure^  and  eloquent  in  a  more  sublime  language — 
nobles  by  the  right  of  an  earlier  creation,  and  priests 
by  the  imposition  of  a  mightier  hand.'^     This  really 

»  Prov.  4:  18.      ^  j^.^g^y  on  Barrcrc.       ^  Philip.  4 :  8. 
*  Essay  on  Milton. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATUPwE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       83 

fine  passage  is  characterized  tlirouglioufc  by  Scripture 
ideas,  figures,  aud  language.  Tal-ze  these  away,  aud 
its  beauty  and  power  will  all  be  gone.  Indeed,  if 
any  one  will  examine,  he  will  find  that  the  chariu 
of  Macaulay^s  writings  depends  very  much  upon  the 
Scripture  ideas,  figures,  allusions,  and  quotations 
with  which  they  abound.  AVe  blame  him  not.  For 
the  Bible  is  the  one  book  from  which  authors  may 
borrow  almost  to  any  extent  without  subjecting 
themselves  to  the  charge  of  plagiarism. 

We  have  referred  to  Macaulay  only  as  one  of  many 
examples.  Carlyle,  Hazlitt,  and  many  others  of  our 
best  prose  writers,  borrow  as  much  as  he  from  the 
Scriptures,  or  even  more. 

English  oratory,  also,  owes  much  to  the  Bible. 
We  will  state  a  few  facts  illustrative  of  this  point. 

One  of  the  most  eloquent  speakers  that  ever  used 
the  English  language  was  Patrick  Henry.  His 
l)ower,  like  that  of  every  other  orator,  lay,  of  course, 
mainly  in  his  delivery.  But  style  and  diction  are 
also  important  to  an  orator;  and  those  of  the  Ameri- 
can Demosthenes  took  their  character  and  color 
laro-ely  from  the  Bible.  Observe  how  its  laniruao-e 
and  figures  run  through  his  celebrated  speech  in  the 
Virginia  convention: — ^  We  are  apt  to  shut  our  eyes 
against  a  painful  truth — Are  we  disposed  to  be  of 
that  number  who,  having  eyes,  see  not,  and  liaving 
carSj  hear  notj  the  tilings  which  so  nearly  concern  their 
temporal  salvation f — I  have  but  one  lamp  by  ichich 
my  feet  are  guided — Suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  be- 
trayed by  a  kiss — An  appeal   to  arms  and  the  God 


84  LITERAEY  EXCELLENCE. 

of  Jiosfs  is   all  that  is   left  us — Until   oiir  enemies 
have  bound  us  Jiand  and  foot — The  battle  is  not  to 
the  strong  alone — Gentlemen   may   cry  peace,  peace, 
but  there  is  no  peace — Forbid   it,  Almighty  God  !' 
Throughout  the  whole  speech,  there  is  no  idea  or  fig- 
ure taken  from  profane  authors,  except  in  the  com- 
parison of  delusive  hope  to  the  fabled  sirens.^     In 
another  address,  delivered  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Revolutionary  struggle  to  arouse  the  people  to 
activity,  the  predominance  of  Bible   ideas,  figures, 
allusions,  and  language,  is  still   more  marked.     In 
it  he  reminded  his  hearers,  that  ^the  same  God  whose 
power  divided  the  Bed  Sea  for  the  deliverance  of  Israel , 
still  reigned  in  all  his  glory,  unchanged  and  unchange- 
able— icas  still  the  enemy  of  the  oppressor  and  the  friend 
of  the  oppressed — that  he  would  cover  them  from  their 
enemies  by  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and  guide  their  feet 
through' the  night  by  a.  pillar  of  fir e.^'^     This  brief  ex- 
tract is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  Scripture  style,  both 
of  thought  and  expression,  that  characterizes  the  en- 
tire address.     When  Mr.  Henry  was  well  advanced 
in  years,  on  the  occasion  of  a  political  election,  he 
was  surrounded  and  followed  by  an  admiring  crowd. 
A    clergyman,   whose  piety   was    wounded   by   this 
homage  paid  to  a  mortal,  asked  the  people  aloud; 
*Why  do  you  follow  Mr.  Henry  about?    Mr.  Henry 
is  not  a  god !'     Mr.  Henry,  deeply  affected  botli  by 
the  scene   and   the   remark,  said;  ^  Xo,  indeed,  my 
friend,  I  am  but  a  poor  icorm  of  the  dust — as  fleeting 
and  unsubstantial  as  the  shadow^  of  the  cloud  that  flies 
over  your  fields,  and  is  remembered  no  more  J     Every 

1  Life  of  P.  Heury  by  Wirt,  pp.  138-9.   '  pp.  15G-7. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATUIIE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       85 

heart  was  aifected,  and  every  voice  silenced.^  This 
incident  shows  how  the  deep  emotions  of  the  orator's 
soul  found  vent  in  Scripture  language  and  figures. 
Indeed,  in  his  fire,  energy,  ideas,  figures,  and  lan- 
guage, he  resembled  one  of  the  old  Hebrew  pro- 
phets. 

No  orator  of  the  Ens^lish  tono^ue  had  a  better  stvle 
of  lano;ua2:e  than  Daniel  Webster.  It  was  charac- 
terized  by  simplicity,  purity,  beauty,  clearness,  and 
strength.  Its  excellence,  he  himself  declared,  was 
due  to  the  Bible.  'From  the  time,'  said  he,  ^that, 
at  my  mother's  feet,  or  on  my  father's  knees,  I  first 
learned  to  lisp  verses  from  the  Sacred  Writings,  they 
have  been  my  daily  study  and  vigilant  contempla- 
tion. If  there  be  any  thing  in  my  style  or  thoughts 
worthy  to  be  commended,  the  credit  is  due  to  my 
kind  parents,  in  instilling  into  my  early  mind  a  love 
for  the  Scriptures.'^ 

We  have  thus  showed  that  the  excellence  of  these 
two  masters  of  eloquence — Henry  and  Webster — 
was  due  to  their  acquaintance  with  the  sacred  scrip- 
tures; and  from  this  fact  we  may  judge  how  much 
English  secular  oratory  and  English  secular  orators 
owe  to  the  Bible. 

Pulpit  oratory,  of  course,  owes  still  more.  But 
we  have  not  space  to  speak  of  Whitefield,  Wesley, 
Hall,  Chalmers,  Mason,  and  Edwards.  Not  only 
did  they  draw  from  the  Bible  subjects  and  materials 
for  their  discourses;  but  they  were  also  largely  in- 
debted to  it  for  their  mental  and  moral  culture,  and 

1  Life  of  P.  Henry  by  Wirt,  p.  408. 

2  Harper's  Mag.  vol.  13,  p.  498. 
8 


86  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

for  the  beauty  and  power  of  their  ideas  and  modes 
of  expression. 

2.   German  Literature. 

The  literature  and  literary  men  of  Germany  are 
also  much  indebted  to  the  Bible. 

We  have  already  referred  to  Gothe,  who  is  re- 
garded as  Germany's  greatest  poet.  He  informs  us, 
that  in  his  boyhood  he  learned  to  read  the  Scriptures 
in  tlie  original  tongues;  that  his  love  for  them  could 
not  be  taken  from  him;  and  that  the  peculiarities  of 
the  Old  Testament  always  strongly  interested  him.^ 
He  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  events  and  scenes 
recorded  in  its  earlier  books,  and  then  remarks,  that 
in  all  his  mental  conflicts  and  perplexities  those  ori- 
ental regions  were  his  safe  retreat.^  Pie  was  the  most 
cidtivated  of  poetic.  With  him  mo?'aZ  culture  meant 
only  the  education  of  his  intellect  and  imagination, 
and  the  development  of  his  poetic  powers.  Yet  he 
declares,  that  to  the  Bible  almost  alone  did  he  owe 
his  moral  culture  ;  and  that  its  events,  its  doctrines, 
its  emblems,  its  similes,  were  all  deeply  impressed 
upon  him,  and  in  one  way  or  another  influenced 
him.  He  further  declares,  that  he  became  too  deep- 
ly attached  to  the  whole  book  ever  to  do  without  it.^ 
His  jPaiisHndicates  his  knowledge  of  its  teachings 
and  history,  and  illustrates  his  skill  in  the  employ- 
ment of  them  to  give  interest,  dignity,  and  power  to 
his  poetry.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  Gothe 
'left  the  church  and  the  altar  behind  hini,'^  and  be- 

i  Truth  and  roetry,  B.  4.         ^B.4.        ^  B.  7. 
*  Truth  and  Poetry,  B.  7. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.      87 

came,  in  the  language  of  one  of  his  own  countrymen, 
a  refined  heathen,  without  even  the  desire  of  salva- 
tion which  characterized  the  noblest  minds  of  Greece 
and  Rome.^ 

But  the  indebtedness  of  German  literature  to  the 
Bible  cannot  be  properly  appreciated  without  a  ref- 
erence to  Klopstock.  In  regard  to  his  writings,  we 
must  rely  wholly  upon  the  judgment  of  others;  but 
in  this  we  are  kept  in  countenance  by  the  declaration 
of  Schlegel,  that  his  chief  poem,  the  Messiah^  is  ad- 
mired chiefly  upon  trusL  Dr.  SchaiF  calls  him  the 
German  Milton.  Schlegel  says  that  *  every  grada- 
tion, blending,  and  depth  of  elegiac  feeling  is  hand- 
led by  him  with  the  power  and  ease  of  a  master.'^ 
With  regard  to  the  influence  of  Klopstock  on  Ger- 
man literature,  this  able  critic  declares  that  with  the 
Ilessiah  the  new  literature  of  Germany  may  be  said 
to  begin;  so  immeasurable  have  been  the  benefits 
derived  from  it,  particularly  in  respect  to  style  and 
expression;  and  that  Klopstock's  mighty  hand  put 
an  end  to  the  greatest  reproach  of  German  litera- 
ture.^ Gothe  also  speaks  of  him  as  the  creator  of  a 
new  epoch,  the  founder  of  modern  German  literature, 
and  says  his  works  gained  an  incredible  influence. 
The  account  which  he  gives  of  Klopstock's  prin- 
cipal work  and  the  source  of  his  poetic  inspiration, 
is  as  follows:  ^The  Messiah,  a  name  which  betokens 
infinite  attributes,  was  to  be  glorified  afresh  by  him. 
The  Redeemer  was  to  be  the  Hero,  whom  the  poet 
contemplated  accompanying  through  his  earthly  hu- 

^  Schaff's  Germany,  p.  148.      ^  Hist,  of  Lit.  Lect.  15. 
3  Lect.  15. 


88  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

manity  and  sorrow  to  the  highest  heavenly  Iriumplis. 
Every  thing  godlike,  angelic,  and  human  that  lay  in 
the  young  soul  was  here  called  into  requisition. 
Brought  up  by  the  Bible  and  nourished  by  its 
strength,  he  now  lives  with  the  patriarchs,  prophets, 
and  fore-runners  as  if  they  were  present;  yet  all 
these  are  only  evoked  from  the  ages  to  draw  a  lumi- 
nous halo  round  the  One,  whose  humiliation  they 
behold  with  astonishment,  and  in  whose  exaltation 
they  are  destined  to  bear  so  glorious  a  part.'^ 

We  find,  then,  that  Gothe,  the  greatest  of  German 
poets,  in  his  youthful  days  fed  on  Bible  history, 
scenes,  doctrines,  and  imagery;  and  that  to  the  Bible 
almost  alone  he  owed  the  culture  which  made  him 
the  man  and  poet  he  was,  and  gave  him  influence 
and  fame.  We  find  also  that  Kloi)stock,  who  was 
the  renovator  of  German  literature  and  who  pre- 
j^ared  the  way  for  Gothe,  was  brought  up  on  the 
Bible  and  nourished  by  its  strength;  lived,  as  it 
wer.e,  with  the  ancient  Hebrew  patriarchs  and  ])ro- 
phets;  and  was  thus  fitted  for  writing  his  great 
])oem,  and  accomplishing  his  great  work.  It  was 
but  the  Bible,  with  its  lofty  themes  and  poetry, 
speaking  through  the  gifted  soul  of  Klopstock,  that 
gave  new  life  to  German  literature,  and  awoke  the 
poetic  genius  of  Fatherland. 

3.  Spanish  Literature. 
Spain  furnishes  another  example  of  a  great  i)<)et, 
whose  powers  were  developed   by  the  beauties  and 
sublimities  of  the  Bible,  and  derived  from  it  great 

'  Truth  and  Poetry,  B.  10. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       89 

aid  in  the  composition  of  his  works.  In  the  esti- 
mation of  F.  Schlegel,  the  Spanish  drama  reached 
its  perfection  in  Calderon,  whom  he  declares  the 
Jast  and  greatest  of  all  the  Spanish  poets.  He  fur- 
ther declares,  that  of  all  dramatic  poets  Calderon  is 
the  most  Christian}  A.  Schlegel  characterizes  his 
religious  poetry  as  one  continued  hymn  of  thanks- 
giving, ever  ascending  to  the  throne  of  God.^  Dean 
Trench,  though  he  does  not  concur  in  the  high  en- 
comiums pronounced  upon  him  by  the  Schlegels,  de- 
clares him  to  be  the  greatest  of  the  Spanish  drama- 
tists; and  the  Spanish  drama,  after  the  Greek  and 
English,  to  be  the  most  glorious  explosion  of  genius 
in  this  kind  the  world  has  ever  seen.  He  mentions 
his  Locks  of  Absalom,  a  play  founded  on  Bible  his- 
tory, as  the  best  exhibition  of  his  skill  and  genius; 
and  declares  that  he  found  his  inspiration  in  the 
great  mysteries  of  revelation  and  redemption.^  Tick- 
nor,  who  says  Calderon  often  sets  before  us  models 
of  ideal  beauty,  perfection,  and  splendor,  mentions 
seventy-three  as  the  number  of  autos  or  religious 
d-ramas  written  by  him,  beside  thirteen  or  fourteen 
other  full-length  religious  plays."^  From  all  these 
testimonies  we  are  certainly  safe  in  saying,  that 
Calderon  was  a  great  poet,  and  that  he  was  largely 
indebted  to  the  history,  poetry,  doctrines,  and  mo- 
rality of  the  Bible  for  the  development  of  his  genius, 
the  subjects  of  his  pieces,  and  the  materials  for  their 
construction. 

But  there  was  a  Spanish  poet  earlier  than  Calde- 

^  His.  of  Lit.  Lect.  12.        ^  ^j-a.  Lit.  Lect.  12.      ^  Trench's 
Calderon,  pp.  36-87.        *  Hist,  of  Span.  Lit.  pp.  271,  281. 
8* 


90  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

ron,  one  who  flourished  a  century  before  him,  dying 
in  1591,  who  also  drew  his  poetic  inspiration  from 
the  sacred  writings.  Luis  de  Leon  was  a  monk  of 
the  Augustine  order,  a  doctor  of  Divinity  and  pro* 
fessor  of  Sacred  Literature  in  the  university  of  Sala- 
manca, lie  was  imprisoned  five  years  by  the  In- 
quisition, on  the  charge  of  having  made  a  vernacular 
translation  of  the  Scriptures.  The  ground  of  this 
charge  was,  his  having  translated  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon for  a  friend.  Ticknor  declares  that  his  poems 
are  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  Spanish  lyric  poetry, 
and  that  his  prose  writings  place  him  at  once  among 
the  greatest  masters  of  eloquence  in  his  native  Cas- 
tilian.  The  following  declaration  of  the  literary 
historian  indicates  the  source  from  which  Luis  de 
Leon  drew  his  poetic  inspiration:  ^Luis  de  Leon 
liad  a  Hebrew  soul,  and  kindles  his  enthusiasm  al- 
most always  from  the  Jewish  Scriptures.'^ 

These  facts  in  regard  to  Calderon,  the  greatest  of 
Spanish  dramatists,  and  Luis  de  Leon,  the  greatest 
of  Spanish  lyric  poets  and  one  of  the  greatest  masters 
of  eloquence  in  Castilian  prose,  will  enable  the  read- 
er to  estimate  the  indebtedness  of  the  literature  and 
literary  men  of  Spain  to  the  sacred  Scriptures. 

4.  French  Literature. 
The  French  writers  have  borrowed  less  from  the 
Bible  than  those  of  any  other  great  nation  of  modern 
times.  Indeed,  no  great  French  writer,  except  theo- 
logians and  ecclesiastics,  appears  to  have  been  much 
influenced  by  Scripture  conceptions,  sentiments,  or 

^Ilis.  of  Span.  Lit.  vol.  2,  pj).  47-51. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  TFIE  BIBLE.      91 

style.  This  fact  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  pecii- 
liaritv  of  French  character,  and  the  corresponding 
peculiarity  of  French  literature.  Schlegel  describes 
it  as  defective  in  seriousness.  Voltaire  once  said — 
^The  Frenchman  is  made  up  of  the  tiger  and  the 
ape.'  This  caricature,  uttered  in  a  moment  of  bit- 
terness, and  gross^as  it  is,  points  out  the  prevailing 
want  of  moral  earnestness  and  energy  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  French.  They  have  sometimes  manifested 
earnestness  and  energy  of  the  tiger  kind,  but  not  of 
the  kind  that  enables  a  nation  to  dare  and  do  great 
things.  The  old  Hebrew  psalmists,  prophets,  and 
apostles  are  too  solemn  and  earnest  for  the  volatile 
and  brilliant  Frenchman.  Had  the  French  been  an 
earnest  people,  their  leading  literary  men  would, 
doubtless,  have  been  imbued  with  the  lofty  and 
earnest  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  literature,  and  the  re- 
proach would  not  now  be  resting  on  the  people  of 
France,  that  they  have  no  ])oem  which  the  world 
thinks  great;  no  tragedy  which  any  but  Frenchmen 
greatly  admire;  no  philosophy  but  translations  of 
Bacon,  iS'ewton,  and  Locke;  no  literary  works  at  all 
of  general  and  permanent  interest  and  influence, 
except  Calvin's  Institutes  and  D'Aubigne's  Reforma- 
tion— the  productions  of  men  who  drank  deep  of  the 
spirit  and  sentiments  of  Bible  literature. 

Yet  the  most  celebrated  writers  of  France  have 
manifested,  in  the  composition  of  their  works,  their 
appreciation  of  the  literary  wealth  and  beauty  of  the 
Bible.  Voltaire  himself — who  heaped  on  the  Scrip- 
tures such  scurrilous  abuse  as  a  modern  infidel  of 
the  more  decent  class  would  be  ashamed  of,  and  for 


92  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

whose  Saul,  a  burlesque  on  Bible  history,  Gothe  says 
in  his  young  days  he  could  have  choked  him — ob- 
tained from  the  very  book  which  he  reviled,  the 
most  charming  scenes,  ideas,  and  sentiments  of  his 
best  pieces.  His  Samson  is  founded  on  the  Bible  his- 
tory of  the  hero  of  that  name.  His  feats  of  strength, 
his  betrayal  by  Delilah,  and  his  destruction  of  him- 
self and  of  the  Philistines  by  overthrowing  the  pil- 
lars of  their  temple,  are  worked  up  by  the  poet  into 
his  tragedy — though  he  does  sometimes  make  the 
mighty  old  Hebrew  talk  like  a  pompous  French- 
man !  His  Zaire  was  called  a  Christian  tragedy  at 
Paris,  and  had  a  grand  success,  as  is  asserted  by  the 
editors  of  his  works.^  Chateaubriand,  quoting  from 
one  of  his  volumes,  states  that  Voltaire  himself  said 
in  reference  to  this  piece,  ^I  shall  endeavor  to  intro- 
duce into  it  whatever  appears  most  pathetic  and  most 
interesting  in  the  Christian  religion/^  Accordingly, 
he  represents  the  kingly  old  Lusignan  as  firmly  ad- 
hering to  his  religion  in  the  greatest  misfortunes, 
and  as  implorins:  his  long'-lost  dau<»;hter  to  hearken 
to  the  voice  of  the  God  of  her  fathers,  and  to  break 
off  her  alliance  with  the  IMohammedan  2:)riuce  that 
reigned  in  Jerusalem  : — 

^My  God!  these  sixty  years  in  thy  great  cause 

Have  I  a  warrior  old  contended. 
»  But  I  have  seeu  thy  holy  temple  fall, 

And  of  thy  mighty  name  the  memory  cease. 

In  frightful  dungeon  chained,  these  twenty  years 

Have  I  with  tears  implored  thee  to  protect 

^  Vol.  2,  Pourrat's  edition,  advcriisement. 
^  Genie  du  Christianisme,  2d  Part,  2:  5. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       93 

My  sorrowing  children ;  but  now  I  find 
My  daughter  turned  to  be  thine  enemy. 
Most  miserable  am  I;  I,  alas! 
In  jDrison  laid,  have  robbed  thee  of  thy  faith. 
My  daughter!  object  of  my  tender  cares, 
Think  of  the  noble  blood  that  courses  pure 
Within  thy  veins,  the  blood  of  twenty  kings, 
All  Christians  like  myself,  the  blood  of  heroes, 
Defenders  of  the  faith,  and  blood  of  martyrs. 

0  daughter!  still  too  dear,  thou  knowest  not 
Thy  childhood's  fate,  nor  who  thy  mother  was. 
For  at  the  moment  she  gave  birth  to  thee, 
The  last,  sad  fruit  of  an  unhappy  love, 

1  saw  her  slaughtered  by  the  maddened  hand 
Of  robbing  infidels,  to  whom  thou  hast, 

In  faithless,  sinful  union  joined  thyself. 
Thy  martyred  brothers,  slain  before  mine  eyes, 
From  heaven  stretch  their  bleeding  hands  to  thee. 
Thy  God,  whose  name  and  cause  thou  dost  betray, 
For  thee  and  for  the  world  died  in  this  place. 
Where  in  his  cause  my  arm  so  oft  hath  fought, 
And  where  his  blood  now  calls  thee  by  my  voice. 
Behold!  this  temple  and  these  walls  now  held 
By  plundering  Mussulmans,  thy  masters, 
All  speak  of  God  for  whom  thy  fathers  fought. 
Here  is  his  tomb ;  upon  this  mount  he  died, 
By  wicked  hands,  to  wash  away  our  sins ; 
And  from  this  tomb  he  rose  again  to  life. 
In  every  path  thou  treadest  in  this  place. 
Thou  dost  behold  the  footsteps  of  thy  God. 
If  thou  remainest  here  thou  dost  renounce 
Thy  father,  and  thy  honor,  and  thy  God :— 


94  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

I  now  behold  thee  weeping  in  my  arms; 

On  thy  pale  brow  God  puts  repentance  now ; 

I  see  the  truth  descend  into  thy  heart; 

I  now  regain  my  honor  and  my  joy 

By  purging  from  my  Christian  house  and  blood 

The  taint  of  infidelity/^ 
For  the  beauties  of  Alzire,  another  of  his  drama- 
tic pieces,  Voltaire  was  also  mainly  indebted  to 
Christianity.  This  tragedy  is  declared  by  Schlegel 
to  be  Voltaire's  master-piece.^  In  it  are  represented 
tlie  Christian  virtues  of  repentance  and  forgiveness. 
In  the  PreUmlnary  Dlscoursey  the  author  says ;  ^The 
religion  of  a  barbarian  consists  in  offering  to  his  gods 
the  blood  of  his  enemies.  A  Christian  badly  in- 
structed is  often  little  better.  To  be  faithful  to  cer- 
tain useless  practices,  and  to  neglect  the  true  duties 
of  man;  to  make  certain  prayers,  and  to  retain  his 
vices;  to  fast,  but  to  liate,  to  cabal,  to  persecute; 
this  is  his  religion.  That  of  the  true  Christian  is, 
to  regard  all  men  as  his  brothers,  to  do  them  good, 
and  to  pardon  their  injuries.  Such  is  Gusman  at 
the  moment  of  his  death;  such  was  Alvarez  in  the 
course  of  his  life;  such  I  have  described  Henry  IV. 
even  in  his  weaknesses.'  The  scene  of  the  play  is 
laid  in  Peru,  South  America.  Don  Gusman,  the 
governor,  is  represented  as  a  cruel,  wicked  man; 
Alvarez,  his  father,  as  a  true  Christian.  Gusman, 
j)uts  Zamor,  prince  of  Potosi,  out  of  the  way  by  kill- 
ing him,  as  he  supposes,  for  the  sake  of  his  beauteous 
bride,  Alzire,  whom   he  forces  to  become  his  wife. 

^  Zaire,  Act  2,  scene  3.  ^  Ilis.  of  Lit.  Lcct.  12. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITEPwATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       95 

Bat  Zamor  re-appears,  as  if  arisen  from  the  dead, 
and  in  an  encounter  with  Gusman  mortally  wounds 
him.  On  his  death-bed,  Gusman  repents  of  his 
crimes,  forgives  Zamor,  and  restores  to  him  his  be- 
loved bride.  Gusman's  repentance  is  represented  in 
the  last  scene  of  the  piece: — 

*I  die;  the  veil  is  off;  a  new  light  breaks; 

Now,  at  the  close  of  this  my  wild  career, 

I  know  myself:  Oh  !  I  have  trod,  in  pride, 

Beneath  my  feet  my  groaning  fellow  men. 

But  heaven  is  just,  and  now  avenges  earth. 

My  life  cannot  repay  the  blood  with  which 

My  hands  are  stained;  good  fortune  blinded  me; 

But  death  hath  oped  mine  eyes ;  I  pardon  now' 

The  hand  that  God  did  use  in  smiting  me. 

Here  I  was  master  aad  I  still  command ; 

I  alone  can  pardon  give  to  Zamor, 

As  now  I  do;  go,  my  proud  enemy; 

Be  free,  and  from  this  time  remember  how 

A  Christian  acted  and  a  Christian  died. 

And  Oh,  ye  hapless  victims  of  my  hists. 

Think  how  my  clemency  exceeds  my  crimes. 

Instruct  Americans  that  Christian  men 

Were  born  to  rule  them  and  to  give  them  laws. 

Observe  the  difference  'twixt  the  Gods  we  serve: 

Thine  teaches  you  to  murder  and  revenge; 

But  mine  commands  to  pity  and  forgive 

The  arm  that  thrusts  a  dagger  in  my  heart. 

Zamor  to  Gusman. 
I  stand  in  wonder  and  amazement  lost. 
Is  virtue,  then,  so  great  in  Christians,  true? 
The  law  that  prompts  thee  to  this  act  sublime, 


96  LITEKARY    EXCELLENCE. 

Oh,  it  must  be  indeed  the  law  of  God. 

Faith,  friendship,  constancy  I  understand, 

But,  Oh,  this  noble  grandeur  of  the  soul, 

This  lofty  virtue  is  beyond  my  reach; 

It  overwhelms  and  yet  attracts  my  mind. 

It  now  repents  me  that  I  sought  revenge; 

Henceforth  I  love  thee  and  admire.'^ 
Some  of  the  sentiaients  put  in  the  mouth  of  Gus- 
miin,  such  as  the  excess  of  his  clemency  above  his 
crimes,  and  the  natural  right  of  Christian  Spaniards 
to  domineer  over  the  natives  of  Peru,  are  not  Chris- 
tian; yet  the  scene  represents  the  virtues  and  beau- 
ties of  Cliristian  character.  Thus  the  religion  which 
the  poet  calumniated  and  reviled  furnished  him 
witli  his  most  pathetic  scenes,  and  most  beautiful 
sentiments.* 

The  poet  Racine  also  derived  aid  from  the  Scrip- 
tures in  the  composition  of  some  of  liis  best  pieces, 
especially  his  Esther  and  Athalle.  La  Harpe,  in  liis 
Cours  de  Litteraturej  says:  'The  style  of  Edher  is 
enchanting;  it  is  there  that  Racine  begins  to  take 
from  the  holy  Scripture  that  he  had  taken  from  the 
Greek  poets.  He  was  penetrated  with  the  spirit  of 
the  sacred  books,  and  with  it  melted  the  substance 
in  Esther  and  AthalieJ'-^  Schlegel  says,  that  Racine 
shows  himself  in  Athalie  to  be  a  Christian  poet,  and 
that  it  and  the  Cid  of  Cornellle  are  the  two   most 

^  Alzire,  Act,  5,  scene  7. 
*We  trust  our  translation  of  Voltaire  as  above  given  will 
serve  to  give  some  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  original,  so  far  as 
thought  and  sentiment  arc  concerned. 

2  Tom.  1,  p.  571. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       97 

glorious  productions  of  French  poetry.^  Chateau- 
briand says,  that  in  this  piece  Racine  stands  unri- 
valed, and  that  it  is  the  most  perfect  production  of 
genius  inspired  by  religion.^  This  exalted  opinion 
of  Racine  is  sustained  by  Voltaire,  who  declared 
him  the  most  perfect  of  French  poets.^  Though 
Schlegel  declares  the  Athalie  of  Racine  and  the  Cld 
of  Corneille  the  most  glorious  productions  of  French 
poetry,  Chateaubriand  preferred  the  Polyeudcs  of 
Corneille  to  the  Cid.  The  Polyeudes  is  a  Christian 
poem;  a  tragedy  of  Christian  love,  devotion,  and 
martyrdom.  Sometimes  Voltaire's  Christian  trag- 
edy (as  it  was  called)  was  performed  in  the  Paris 
theatre  instead  of  it.'* 

As  to  French  oratory,  it  is  well  known  that  France 
has  produced  no  orators  more  powerful  or  celebrated 
than  the  preachers  of  the  time  of  Louis  the  Four- 
teenth— Bourdaloue,  Bossuet,  Massillon,  and  Fene- 
lon.  These  pulpit  orators  drew  the  materials  for 
the  construction  of  their  sermons,  the  doctrines  and 
sentiments  which  they  preached,  largely  from  the 
Scriptures.  In  general,  they  were  more  Christian 
than  Romanist.  Some  of  their  discourses,  with  the 
omission  of  a  few  sentences,  would  be  appropriate  to 
a  Protestant  audience  of  the  present  day. 

5.  Italian  Literature  of  the  Middle  Age. 
Italy  during  the  middle  age  produced  many  cele- 
brated writers.     The  greatest  of  these  was  Dante,  of 

^His.  of  Lit.  Lect.  12.      ""GQnie  dii  Chris.  2  P.,  2:  10. 
^  Theatre  complet  de  J.  Racine,  p.  8.     *  Oeuvres  de  Vol- 
taire, tome  2,  advertisement. 
9 


98  LITERAEY   EXCELLENCE. 

^vhose  great  poem  we  have  already  spoken,  in  our 
chapter  on  the  richness  o'f  the  Bible  in  literary  sub- 
jects.^ He  was  indebted  to  the  Bible  for  more  than 
his  general  subjects.  His  writings  remind  one  con- 
tinually of  the  Hebrew  prophets  and  bards.  Like 
Milton,  he  was  a  learned  poet,  and  like  Milton  he 
took  more  from  the  Bible  than  from  any  other  book ; 
more,  indeed,  than  from  all  other  books  together. 
He  refers  again  and  again  to  the  doctrines,  scenes, 
and  events  recorded  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments. The  spirit  of  his  poetry  is  the  same  that 
glowed  in  the  Bible  poets.  Though  he  had  a 
powerful  imagination,  he  needed  to  be  strengthened 
and  elevated  by  the  stern  and  lofty  spirit  and  senti- 
ments of  the  sacred  writers,  in  order  that  he  might 
conceive,  and  gaze  upon,  and  describe  the  awful 
scenes  of  his  Vision.  His  language,  too,  is  such  as 
the  Hebrew  poets  used.  Hence  it  is  not  without 
reason  that  Schlegel  calls  him  the  first  and  oldest  of 
the  Christian  poets.  It  is  surprising,  however,  that 
this  able  critic  should  accuse  Milton  of  imitating 
him.^  Ko;  the  lofty  soul  of  the  author  of  the 
Paradise  Lost  would  not  stoop  to  imitate  the  writ- 
ings of  any  mortal  man.  But  just  as  the  painter 
and  sculptor  imitate  the  faces,  forms,  and  flowers 
which  have  been  created  by  the  hand  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  as  they  manifest  their  genius  and  skill 
by  the  completeness  with  which  they  thus  imitate  ; 
so  both  Dante  and  Milton  imitated,  and  borrowed 
from  the  Bible,  which  to  them  was  the  book  of  God. 
Genius   does    not   degrade   itself  by  imitating   the 

^Ch.  5.  ^Lect.  12. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.       99 

master-pieces  of  the  Most  High.  The  similarity 
between  th^  Paradise  Lost  and  the  Divina  Comedia 
is  fully  accounted  for  by  the  fact,  that  their  authors 
both  read  and  studied  the  Bible ;  drank  in  and  were 
filled  with  its  doctrines,  scenes,  sentiments,  concep- 
tions, and  imagery ;  and  reproduced  them  in  their 
immortal  poems. 

Another  celebrated  Italian  poet  of  the  middle 
ajre  was  Tasso.  His  indebtedness  to  the  Bible  is  not 
so  apparent  as  that  of  Dante,  but  is  none  the  less 
real.  The  literary  world,  doubtless,  acquiesces  in 
the  judgment  of  Schlegel,  who  speaks  of  Dante, 
Tasso,  Milton,  Klopstock,  and  other  Christian  poets 
of  modern  times,  as  having  taken  their  subjects  or 
their  models  from  the  Scriptures ;  and  who  recog- 
nizes the  powerful  influence  of  the  Scriptures  upon 
the  whole  literature  and  poetry  of  the  middle  age,  as 
well  as  of  modern  times.^ 

We  have  thus  shown,  or  rather  suggested,  the 
great  indebtedness  of  literature  and  literary  men  to 
the  Bible.  The  modern  literatures — English,  Ger- 
man, Spanish,  French,  and  Italian — have  been 
enriched  by  it.  The  great  writers  and  speakers  of 
modern  times  have  made  it  their  study  and  their 
model,  and  have  improved  their  imagination  and 
taste  by  it.  Prose  writers,  poets  tragic,  epic,  and 
lyric,  orators  secular  and  sacred,  have  imitated 
it,  borrowed  from  it,  adopted  its  style,  been  pene- 
trated by  its  spirit,  and  have  reproduced  its  ideas, 
doctrines,  sentiments,  conceptions,  and  imagery,  its 
^Lec.  9. 


100  LITERARY    EXCELLEXCE. 

beauties,  felicities,  and  sublimities,  in  tlie  best  parts 
of  their  own  glorious  productions.  No  book  has  been 
so  much  imitated,  borrowed  from,  quoted,  and  pla- 
giarized, as  the  Bible.  It  is  a  great  store-house  of 
good,  grand,  and  beautiful  things,  from  which  any 
man  may  take  every  thing  he  wants,  without  leave 
and  without  acknowledgment.  It  is  an  inexhaustible 
mine,  in  which  poets,  prose  writers,  and  orators  of 
every  class  and  nation,  have  Avorked  and  digged; 
and  from  which  they  have  drawn  their  brightest 
gems,  as  well  as  their  solid  ore.  It  has  been  to 
modern  literature,  in  general,  like  the  dew  and  rain- 
drops and  sunshine  of  heaven — beautiful  and  glori- 
ous in  itself,  and  scattering  flowers  and  fruits  over 
all  the  earth.  In  the  language  of  the  literary  his- 
torian, the  Scriptures  ^  form  a  fountain  of  fiery  and 
godlike  inspiration,  of  which  the  greatest  poets  have 
never  been  weary  of  drinking;  which  has  suggested 
to  them  their  noblest  images ;  and  animated  them 
for  their  most  magnificent  flisjhts.^^ 

Such  is  the  Bible — so  beautiful,  so  grand,  so  elo- 
quent, so  suggestive,  so  powerful,  so  inexhaustible — 
that  the  national  literatures  have  been  enriched  from 
it ;  that  epics,  tragedies,  ballads,  allegories,  orations, 
and  sermons  have  been  formed  from  its  narratives, 
doctrines,  episodes,  sentiments,  parables,  descrip- 
tions, and  figures;  that  its  beauties  and  excellences 
have  been  imitated,  quoted,  borrowed,  and  plagia- 
rized again  and  again;  that  it  has  furnished  thout'-ht 
and  culture  and  inspiration  to  the  great  poets,  essay- 
*  SchlegePs  His.  of  Lit.  Lee.  4. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  LITERATURE  TO  THE  BIBLE.    101 

ists,  bistormns,  critics,  orators,  and  nearly  all  the 
master-minds  of  modern  times  ;  and  it  still  remains, 
with  its  inexhaustible  treasures  of  literary  wealth,  to 
bless  and  enrich  mankind.  It  is  like  no  other  book 
in  respect  to  the  extent  of  its  influence  and  the  rich- 
ness of  its  treasures.  It  is  comparable  only  to  the 
almighty  Creator,  whose  resources  are  infinite,  and 
whose  fullness  is  inexhaustible. 


9* 


CHAPTER  yil. 

THE   TESTIMONY   OP   EMINENT   MEN   TO   THE 
LITERARY    EXCELLENCE    OF   THE    BIBLE. 

Before  we  proceed  fartlier  in  our  illustration  of 
the  literary  excellence  of  the  Bible,  we  wish  to  ad- 
duce the  testimony  of  able  and  eminent  literary  men. 
This  and  the  two  following  chapters  will  be  mainly 
made  up  of  extracts;  which  we  hope  will  be  read  not 
only  for  their  important  bearing  upon  the  subject  in 
hand,  but  also  for  their  own  literary  beauty.  We 
begin  with  the  testimony  of  Christian  men. 

The  testimony  of  Sir  William  Jones,  scholar,  jurist, 
poet,  the  master  of  twenty-eight  languages,  the 
greatest  orientalist  of  the  eighteenth  century,  to  the 
transcendent  excellence  of  the  Biblical  literature,  is 
so  well  known  as  scarcely  to  need  quotation.  It  is 
as  follows :  ^  I  have  carefully  and  regularly  perused 
these  Holy  Scriptures,  and  am  of  opinion  that  the 
volume,  independently  of  its  divine  origin,  contains 
more  sublimity,  more  important  history,  purer  mo- 
rality, and  finer  strains  of  eloquence,  than  can  be 
collected  from  all  other  books,  in  whatever  language 
they  may  have  been  written.'  And  again,  '  Theo- 
logical enquiries  are  no  part  of  my  present  subject; 
but  I  cannot  refrain  from  adding,  that  the  collection 
of  t  lets,  which  we  call,  from  their  excellence,  the 
102 


TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  103 

Scriptures,  contain,  independently  of  a  divine  origin, 
more  true  sublimity,  more  exquisite  beauty,  purer 
morality,  more  important  history,  and  finer  strains 
of  poetry,  and  eloquence,  than  could  be  collected, 
within  the  same  compass,  from  all  other  books 
that  were  ever  composed  in  any  age,  or  in  any 
idiora/^ 

The  testimony  which  this  illustrious  scholar  and 
author  rendered  to  the  literary  superiority  of  the 
Scriptures,  cannot  with  propriety  be  regarded  as  the 
result  of  education  or  prejudice.  For  it  is  stated  by 
his  biographer,  that  before  his  judgment  was  fully 
matured,  and  before  he  had  studied  the  Scriptures 
with  close  attention,  his  belief  in  their  divine  in- 
spiration was  tinged  with  doubt.^ 

The  next  witness  we  cite  is  Fenelon,  the  Roman 
Catholic  archbishop  of  Cambray,  in  France.  This 
celebrated  man  possessed  great  learning  and  genius. 
Sir  James  Mackintosh  describes  him  as  a  pure,  gen- 
tle, modest  spirit,  possessing  urbanity,  vivacity,  ac- 
complishment, genius,  and  virtue.^  Schlegel  says, 
that  he  wrote  in  the  most  exquisite  language,  from 
no  inspiration  but  that  of  his  own  amiable  and 
Christian  feelings.^  Lamartine  declares  him  to 
'have  been  a  legislator,  poet,  and  statesman,  as  well 
as  pontiff;  a  flame  lighted  up  by  the  Almighty  to 
shed  radiance  upon  an  accomplished  age  ;  the  Py- 
thagoras or  Plato  of  France.'^  The  opinion  of  such 
a  man,  on  a  question  of  literary  excellence,  is  worthy 

^  Lord  Teignmouth's  Biog.  p.  374-5.         ^  p^  330. 
3  Misc.  Essays,  p.  126.     "^  His.  of  Lit.  Lect.  13. 
^  Memoirs  of  Celebrated  Characters,  vol.  2,  p.  303. 


104  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

of  the  highest  regard.      In   regard   to  the   literary 
character  of  the   sacred  books,  he  wrote  as  follows : 
'  No  Greek   or  Latin   poetry  is  comparable   to  the 
Psalms.      That  Avhich  begins,  "The  God  of  gods, 
the  Lord,  hath  spoken  and  called  upon  the  earth," 
exceeds  whatever  human  imagination  hath  produced. 
Neither  Homer,  nor  any  other  poet,  equals  Isaiah 
in  describing  the  majesty  of  God,  in  whose  presence 
empires  are  as  a  grain  of  sand,  and  the  whole  uni- 
verse as  a  tent,  which  to-day  is  set  up,  and  removed 
to-morrow.      Sometimes,    as    when    he    paints   the 
charms  of  peace,  Isaiah  has  the  softness  and   sweet- 
ness of  an  eclogue ;  at  others,  he  soars  above  mortal 
conception.     But  wdiat  is  there  in  profane  antiquity 
comparable  to   the  wailings  of  Jeremiah,  when  he 
mourns  over  the  calamities  of  his  people  ?    or   to 
Nahum,  when  he  foresees  in  spirit  the  downfall  of 
Nineveh,  under  the  assault  of  an  innumerable  army? 
We  almost  behold   the  formidable  host,  and    hear 
the  arms  and  the  chariots.      E,ead  Daniel,  denounc- 
ing  to   Belshazzar  the   vengeance  of  God   ready  to 
fall  upon  him  ;  compare  it   with   the   most  sublime 
passages  of  pagan  antiquity  ;  you  find  nothing  com- 
parable to  it.' 

The  poet  Cowper  needs  no  commendation.  The 
author  of  The  Task  is  read  and  known  wherever  the 
English  language  is  spoken.  Coleridge  declared 
him  to  be  the  best  modern  poet.^  Though  probably 
most  readers  do  not  concur  in  this  judgment,  yet 
certainly  all  will  admit  that  in  literary  matters  his 
opinion  is  worthy  of  high  regard.  This  lo\eliest,  if 
^  Hazlitt's  Table  Talk,  part  2,  p.  158. 


TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  105 

not  best  of  modern  poets,  after  speaking  of  an  ac- 
complished man,  who  though  he  never  believed  the 
Gospel,  admired  the  Scriptures  as  the  sublimest  com- 
positions in  the  world;  and  of  another,  who,  though 
he  could  not  subscribe  to  the  truth  of  Christianity 
itself,  could  never  read  Luke's  account  of  our  Sa- 
viour's appearance  to  the  two  disciples  going  to 
Emmaus  without  being  wonderfully  affected  by  it; 
^says: — ^  If  these  men  whose  hearts  were  chilled  with 
the  darkness  of  infidelity,  could  find  such  charms  in 
the  mere  style  of  the  Scripture,  what  must  they  find 
there  whose  eye  penetrates  deeper  than  the  letter, 
and  who  firmly  believe  themselves  interested  in  all 
the  privileges  of  the  gospel?  *  *  *  Xhe  para- 
ble of  the  prodigal  son,  the  most  beautiful  fiction 
that  ever  was  invented;  our  Saviour's  speech,  to  his 
disciples,  with  which  he  closes  his  earthly  ministra- 
tion, full  of  the  sublimest  dignity  and  tenderest  af- 
fection; surpass  everything  I  ever  read,  and,  like 
the  Spirit  by  which  they  were  dictated,  fly  directly 
to  my  heart.' 

'  We  next  present  the  testimony  of  Rev.  J.  G.  iter- 
der  of  Germany,  a  man  of  taste  and  genius.  Go  the 
says  of  him  that  he  was  witchingly  captivating,  and 
radiant  with  intellect.^  Menzel  speaks  of  him  as  a 
sublime  genius,  philosopher,  and  poet.^  This  re- 
markable man,  in  his  work  on  Hebrew  poetry, 
speaks  of  it  as  unparalleled  for  its  beauty  and  sub- 
limity. He  says  of  tire  third  chapter  of  Habakkuk, 
that  a  more  sublime  personification  is  hardly  pos- 
sible.    Of  the  account  of  the  fall  of  Adam  and  Eve, 

1  Truth  and  Poetry,  B.  10.     ^  German  Lit.  vol.  2,  pp.  422-G. 


106  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

he  says,  the  falls  of  Prometheus  and  Pandora  are 
poor  in  comparison.  He  further  says,  that  the  ex- 
hibition of  art  in  the  poetry  of  the  Greeks  is  but 
tawdry  ornament  compared  with  the  simplicity  and 
grandeur  of  the  Book  of  Job  ;  and  that  the  author 
of  the  latter  embraced  in  a  single  glance  the  heavens 
md  the  earth ;  and  sent  forth  his  living  spirit,  his 
poetic  fire,  and  his  human  affections,  to  all  that  ex- 
ists, from  the  land  of  the  shadow  of  death  to  the 
starry  firmament,  and  beyond  the  stars.^ 

It  is  bub  fair  to  state  that  Herder,  though  he 
speaks  in  his  work  on  Hebrew  poetry  with  ad- 
miration of  its  incomparable  beauty  and  grandeur, 
is  said  to  have  acquired  in  after  life  a  relish  for 
what  he  had  called  the  tawdry  ornament  of  Greek 
poetry. 

'  George  Gllfillan,  though  like  Herder  a  clergyman, 
has  written  books  which  entitle  him  to  a  place 
among  modern  critics.  His  Gallery  of  Genius, 
Literature,  and  Literary  Men,  and  his  Bards  of  the 
Bible,  indicate  a  mind  and  heart  to  appreciate  genius 
wherever  found.  He  is  a  passionate  lover  of  true 
poetry  of  every  kind  and  form.  He  has  ever  an 
admiring  eye  and  a  grateful  word  for  literary  merit; 
and  whenever  and  wherever  he  meets  genius,  is 
ready  to  cast  a  garland  of  flowers,  and  worship  at 
her  feet.  But  though  catholic  and  comprehensive 
in  his  love  of  poetry  and  poets,  he  gives  the  \)vq- 
ference  to  the  Hebrew  bards.  Concerning  them  he 
uses  the  language  of  an  admiring  lover,  as  follows  : 
*The  Bible  is  a  mass  of  beautiful  figures — its  words 
1  Vol.  1,  pp.  75,  121,  141,  210. 


TESTIMONY   OP    EMINENT   MEN.  107 

and  its  thoughts  are  alike  poetical — it  has  gathered 
around  its  central  truths  all  natural  beauty  and  in- 
terest. *  *  *  It  has  pressed  into  its  service 
the  animals  of  the  forest,  the  flowers  of  the  fieW,  the 
stars  of  heaven,  all  the  elements  of  nature.  The 
lion  spurning  the  sands  of  the  desert,  the  wild  roe 
leaping  over  the  mountains,  the  lamb  led  in  silence 
to  the  slaughter,  the  goat  speeding  to  the  wilderness, 
the  rose  blossoming  in  Sharon,  the  lily  drooping  in 
the  valley,  the  apple-tree  bowing  under  its  fruit,  the 
great  rock  shadowing  a  weary  land,  the  river  glad- 
dening the  dry  place,  the  moon  and  the  morning  star, 
Carmel  by  the  sea  and  Tabor  among  the  mountains, 
the  dew  from  the  womb  of  the  morning,  the  rain 
upon  the  mown  grass,  the  rainbow  encompassing 
the  landscape,  the  light  God's  shadow,  the  thunder 
His  voice,  the  wind  and  the  earthquake  His  foot- 
steps— all  such  varied  objects  are  made,  as  if  natur- 
ally designed  from  their  creation,  to  represent  Him 
to  whom  the  Book  and  all  its  emblems  point.  Thus 
the  quick  spirit  of  the  Book  has  ransacked  creation 
to  lay  its  treasures  on  Jehovah's  altar — united  in- 
numerable rays  of  a  far-streaming  glory  on  the  lit- 
tle hill  Calvary — and  woven  a  garland  for  the 
bleeding  brow  of  Immanuel,  the  flowers  of  which 
have  been  culled  from  the  garden  of  the  universe. 
This  praise  may  seem  lofty,  but  it  is  due  to  the  Bi- 
ble, and  to  it  alone.'^ 

Another  clergyman  who  has  left  his  testimony  to 
the  literary  excellence  of  the  Bible  is  Edward  Irv- 
ing ^  once  the  colleague  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  after- 

^  Bards  of  the  Bible,  intro.  p.  10. 


108  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

ward    the    celebrated    pulpit    orator    of    London. 
Though  eccentric  and  erratic,  he  was  a  man  of  great 
originality   and   power.      The  preacher  who  could 
rouse  an  Edinburgh  audience  from   their   beds   to 
hear  him   at  five   o'clock   in  the   mornino:  in  such 
crowds,  that  Chalmers  himself  could  not  obtain  en- 
trance; who  had  for  his  hearers,  in   London,  ladies 
of  high   birth  and   fashion,  nobles,  statesmen,  phi- 
losophers,   painters,  poets,   and   sturdy    Scotchmen, 
crowding  the  pews  or  vying  with   each  other  for  a 
standing-place  in  the  doors,  or  seats  in  the  windows; 
who  could  hold  them  spell-bound  by  his  eloquence 
for  hours  together ;  whom  Canning,  in  the  British 
Parliament,  declared  to  have  preached  the  most  elo- 
quent sermon   he  had  ever  heard;   who   had  such 
men  as  Sir  James  Mackintosh  and  the  poet  Coleridge 
for  his  friends  and  admirers;  Avhose  preaching.  Dr. 
Chalmers  said,  was  like  Italian   music,  appreciated 
only  by  connoisseurs;  with  reference  to  whom  Haz- 
litt,  the  English  critic,  said,  ^  Every  word  that  falls 
from  the  great  preacher  in  the  Caledonian  chapel  is 
a  pearl  or  flower  f  and  who  in  five  years  built  up  a 
congregation  from  fifty  to  a  thousand  members,  and 
became  the  most  popular  preacher  in  the  British 
metropolis ; — such  a  man  must  have  possessed  great 
eloquence  and  power,  and  have  been  capable  of  ap- 
preciating the  beautiful  and  sublime.     His  opinion 
concerning  the  superiority  of  the  poetry  of  the  Bible 
is  as  follows :  '  If  now  we  turn  ourselves  to  consider 
tiie  manner  or  style  of  the  Book  (of  Psalms),  and  to 
draw  it  into  comparison  with  the  lyrical  productions 
of  cultivated   and  classical   nations,  it  may  be  said. 


TESTIMONY   OF    EMINENT   MEN.  109 

that  as  the  heavens  are  high  above  the  earth,  so  are 
the  songs  of  Zion  high  above  the  noblest  strains 
which  have  been  sung  in  any  land.  *  *  *  Pqj. 
pure  pathos  and  tenderness  of  heart;  for  sublime 
imaginations  ;  for  touching  pictures  of  natural 
scenery,  and  genial  sympathy  with  nature's  various 
moods ;  for  patriotism,  whether  in  national  weal  or 
national  woe;  for  beautiful  imagery,  whether  de- 
rived from  the  relationship  of  human  life,  or  the 
forms  of  the  created  universe  ;  and  for  the  illustra- 
tion, by  their  help,  of  spiritual  conditions;  more- 
over, for  those  rapid  transitions  in  which  the  lyrical 
muse  delighteth,  her  lightsome  graces  at  one  time, 
her  deep  and  full  inspiration  at  another,  her  exu- 
berance of  joy  and  her  lowest  falls  of  grief;  and  for 
every  other  form  of  the  natural  soul,  which  is  wont 
to  be  shadowed  forth  by  this  kind  of  composition  ; — 
we  challenge  the  literature  of  all  ages  and  countries 
to  produce  anything  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
what  we  find  even  in  the  English  version  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms.'^ 

The  writings  of  Addison,  as  is  well  known,  are 
characterized  by  ease,  grace,  and  lively  humour, 
rather  than  by  grandeur  of  conception  and  force  of 
imagination.  While  he  was  likely  to  be  led  by  his 
taste  and  disposition  to  admire  the  simplicity  of 
Bible  language,  he  had  not  in  an  eminent  degree 
those  mental  qualities  that  would  enable  him  to  ap- 
preciate the  grand  conceptions  and  sublime  flights 
of  Bible  jjoetry.  Still,  he  has  clearly  indicated  his 
belief  in  its  superior  excellence.     In  speaking  of  the 

^  Intro,  to  Home  on  the  Psalms,  pp.  4-5. 
10 


110  LITEKARY    EXCELLENCE. 

way  in  which  the  English  language  has  been  en- 
riched and  invigorated  by  the  infusion  of  Hebrew 
idioms,  he  remarks  as  follows :  *  If  any  one  would 
judge  of  the  beauties  of  poetry  that  are  to  be  met 
with  in  the  divine  writings,  and  examine  how  kind- 
ly the  manners  of  speech  mix  and  incorporate  with 
the  English  language  ;  after  having  perused  the 
book  of  Psalms,  let  him  read  a  literal  translation  of 
Horace  or  Pindar.  He  will  find  in  these  last  two, 
such  an  absurdity  and  confusion  of  style,  with  such 
a  comparative  poverty  of  imagination,  as  will  make 
him  sensible  of  what  I  have  been  here  advancing.'^ 
This  declaration  in  regard  to  the  j^overty  of  imagi- 
nation in  Horace  and  Pindar  compared  with  the 
Psalmists,  shows  that  Addison,  with  all  his  ease  and 
elegance,  considered  the  Hebrew  poetry  far  superior 
in  the  higher  kinds  of  excellence  to  the  Roman 
and  Grecian. 

We  next  present  the  testimony  of  a  very  late 
writer,  Isaac  Taylor j  of  England ;  who  in  his  vari- 
ous works — Natural  History  of  Enthusiasm,  Saturday 
Evening,  Physical  Theory  of  a  Future  Life,  and  other 
volumes — has  manifested  intellect,  taste,  scholarship, 
and  great  power  of  generalization.  The  productions 
of  his  pen  especially  indicate  cultivated  intellect, 
and  capacity  for  calm  meditation.  On  the  wings  of 
meditation  he  ascends  to  the  hio^hest  recrions  of 
thought,  and  brings  down  from  thence  light  and 
beauty  for  the  improvement  and  guidance  of  men's 
hearts  and  lives.  In  his  work  on  the  Spirit  of  He- 
brew Poetry,  in  which  are  combined  skillful  analysis 
^  Spectator,  No.  405. 


TESTIMONY   OF    EMINENT   MEN.  Ill 

and  far-reaching  generalization,  he  often  speaks  of 
the  surpassing  beauty  and  sublimity  of  the  poetic 
parts  of  the  Bible.  Of  the  book  of  Job,  he  says : 
*  Where  shall  we  find  the  grandeur  of  Poetry,  where 
is  majesty  in  language,  where  is  boldness,  fire,  or 
descriptive  force,  if  not  in  these  four  closing  chapters 
of  this  Book  ?'  Again  he  says  :  ^  Turn  to  the  two 
astronomic  Psalms — the  eighth  and  the  nineteenth*^ 
(its  exordium).  Quite  unmatched  are  these  Odes  as 
human  compositions  ;  the  soul  of  the  loftiest  poetry 
is  in  them.^  Of  the  twenty-third  Psalm,  he  re- 
marks, ^  This  is  an  ode  which  for  beauty  of  sentiment 
is  not  to  be  matched  in  the  circuit  of  all  literature.' 
Again  he  says  :  ^  The  90th  Psalm  might  be  cited 
as  perhaps  the  most  sublime  of  human  composi- 
tions— the  deepest  in  feeling — the  loftiest  in  theo- 
logic  conception — the  most  magnificent  in  its  ima- 
gery.'' 

Judge  Grimke  of  South  Carolina  was  a  man  emi- 
nent for  his  scholarship,  eloquence,  and  patriotism. 
He  was  profoundly  versed  in  Grecian  and  Roman 
literature,  and  was  distinguished  for  a  refined  and 
classical  taste.  Few  in  this  or  any  other  country 
were  more  competent  judges  in  literary  matters.  In 
an  oration  which  he  delivered  a  very  short  time  be- 
fore his  death,  he  adverted  in  very  decided  terms  to 
the  surpassing  beauty  and  eloquence  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. He  said,  ^  How  eminently  is  the  religion  of 
the  Bible  intellectual,  spiritual,  lovely,  pathetic ! 
How  eloquent  in  its  views  of  life,  and  death,  and 
» Pp.  131,  39,  35, 148. 


112  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE 

eternity !  How  transcendently  eloquent,  when  it 
speaks  of  the  character  and  attributes  of  Jehovah  ; 
of  the  adorable  and  spotless  Lamb  of  God  ;  of  the 
ruin  and  redemption  of  man;  of  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect;  of  the  innumerable  company  of 
angels  ;  and  of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  ! 
Who  will  not  acknowledge  that  the  Institutes  of 
Moses  contain  more  consummate  wisdom,  more  ad- 
mirable common  sense,  than  all  the  legislators  and 
political  writers  of  ancient  Greece  afford?  Who 
will  not  grant  that  in  the  l^ook  of  Job  alone,  there 
is  more  of  the  moral  and  intellectual  sublime,  more 
of  purifying,  elevating  sentiment,  than  in  the  whole 
body  of  Grecian  poetry?  And  who  will  venture  to 
deny,  that  in  the  single  gospel  of  John,  religion  is 
exhibited  with  a  power,  depth,  beauty,  and  persua- 
siveness, such  as  the  concentered  essence  of  all  the 
moral  philosophy  of  Greece  and  Rome  can  never 
approach  ?'^ 

The  distinguished  jurist.  Chancellor  Kent,  speak- 
ing of  the  Bible,  in  a  public  address,  said :  ^  It  is  the 
vehicle  of  the  most  awful  truths,  and  which  are  at 
the  same  time  of  the  most  universal  application,  and 
accompanied  by  the  most  efficacious  sanctions.  No 
other  book  ever  addressed  itself  so  authoritatively 
and  pathetically  to  the  judgment  and  moral  sense  of 
mankind.  *  *  *  5*^  Its  doctrines,  its  discove- 
ries, its  code  of  morals,  and  its  means  of  grace,  are 
not  only  overwhelming  evidence  of  its  divine  origin, 
but  they  conlbund  the  pretensions  of  all  other  sys- 
^  Oration  delivered  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  pp.  17-18. 


TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  113 

terns,  by  showing  the  narrow  range  and  the  feeble 
efforts  of  human  reason,  even  when  under  the  sway 
of  the  most  exalted  understanding,  and  enlight- 
ened by  the  accumulated  treasures  of  science  and 
learning/^ 

^  Address  before  the  American  Bible  Society, 


CHAPTER  yill. 

THE   TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN   TO   THE 
LITERARY   EXCELLENCE    OF   THE   BIBLE — 

Continued. 

As  the  distinguished  men  whose  opinions  we  have 
quoted  in  the  preceding  chapter  were  not  only  be- 
lievers in  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures, 
but  were  also  praying,  pious  men  ;  and  lest  on  that 
account  their  testimony  should  be  considered  by 
sceptical  minds  as  the  result  of  prejudice  (it  is 
strange,  however,  that  a  man  must  regard  the  Bible 
as  false  in  its  claims  in  order  to  judge  fairly  of  its 
literary  character);  we  will  present  in  this  chapter 
the  opinions  of  men  who,  though  believers  in  the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  were  more  secu- 
lar in  their  spirit  and  character,  and  therefore  less 
likely  to  be  regarded  by  sceptics  as  prejudiced 
judges. 

Perhaps  no  man,  certainly  no  American,  was  bet- 
ter qualified  to  judge  of  the  literary  excellence  of  the 
Bible  than  Daniel  Webster.  But  few,  if  any,  were 
greater  admirers  of  it  than  he.  We  are  informed  by 
one  of  his  biographers,  that  he  never  made  a  jour- 
ney without  carrying  a  copy  of  it  with  him.  He 
read  it  aloud  to  his  family  every  Sabbath  morning. 
He  talked  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  espe- 
114 


TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  115 

cially,  and  dwelt  with  unaffected  j^leasure  upon 
Isaiah,  the  Psalms,  and  the  Book  of  Job.  ^  The 
Book  of  Job/  said  he,  ^  taken  as  a  mere  work  of 
literary  genius,  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  pro- 
ductions of  any  age  or  of  any  language.  As  an  epic 
poem,  it  is  far  superior  either  to  the  Iliad  or  Odys- 
sey. The  two  last  receive  much  of  their  attraction 
from  the  mere  narration  of  warlike  deeds,  and  from 
the  perilous  escapes  of  the  chief  personage  from 
death  and  slaughter ;  but  the  Book  of  Job  is  a  pure- 
ly intellectual  narrative.  Its  power  is  shown  in  the 
dialogues  of  the  persons  introduced.  The  story  is 
simple  in  its  construction,  and  there  is  little  to  ex- 
cite the  imagination  or  arouse  the  sympathy.  It  is 
purely  an  intellectual  production,  and  depends  upon 
the  power  of  the  dialogue,  and  not  upon  the  interest 
of  the  story,  to  produce  its  effects.'  This  was  con- 
sidering it  merely  as  an  intellectual  work.  He  read 
it  through  very  often,  and  always  with  renewed  de- 
light. In  his  judgment,  it  was  the  greatest  epic 
ever  written.^  On  another  occasion  Mr.  \yebster 
said  :  ^  I  have  met  with  men  in  my  time,  accounted 
learned  scholars — who  knew  Homer  by  heart,  re- 
cited Pindar,  were  at  home  with  ^schylus,  and 
petted  Horace — who  could  not  understand  Isaiah, 
Moses,  or  the  Hoyal  Poet.  Why  is  this  ?  Why,  in 
cultivating  profane  poetry,  should  they  neglect  sa- 
cred— so  far  superior  in  original  force,  sublimity, 
and  truth  to  nature?'^ 

Such  was  the  opinion  of  Daniel  Webster,  a  man, 

*  Lanman's  Life  of  Webster,  pp.  101-103. 
2  Harper's  Mag.,  1856,  p.  498. 


116  LITERARY    EXCELLEXCE. 

as  the  world  knows,  of  gigantic  intellect,  great  elo- 
quence, and  refined  literary  taste. 

Hazlitty  the  English  critic,  who  in  his  numerous 
works  shows  himself  capable  of  appreciating  poetry 
of  every  kind,  and  seems  to  revel  among  its  beauties 
and  grandeurs,  places  the  Bible  above  Homer,  Dante, 
Shakspcare,  Ossian,  and  all  the  poets,  ancient  and 
modern.  He  says: — ^ There  are  descriptions  in  the 
book  of  Job  more  prodigal  of  imagery,  more  intense 
in  passion,  than  anything  in  Homer, — as,  that  of  the 
state  of  his  prosperity,  and  of  the  vision  that  came 
upon  him  by  night.  The  metaphors  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  more  boldly  figurative.'^  Again,  in 
speaking  of  the  influence  of  the  Bible  upon  literature 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  he  says  :  '  To  leave 
more  disputable  points,  and  take  only  the  historical 
parts  of  the  Old  Testament,  or  the  moral  sentiments 
of  the  New, — there  is  nothing  like  them  in  the  power 
of  exciting  awe  and  admiration,  or  of  riveting  sym- 
pathy. We  see  what  Milton  has  made  of  the  account 
of  the  Creation,  from  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
treated  it,  imbued  and  impregnated  with  the  spirit  of 
the  time  of  which  we  speak.  Or  what  is  there  equal 
(in  that  romantic  interest  and  patriarchal  simplicity 
which  goes  to  the  heart  of  a  country,  and  rouses  it, 
as  it  were,  from  its  lair  in  wastes  and  wildernesses) 
to  the  story  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  of  Rachel 
and  Laban,  of  Jacob's  Dream,  of  Ruth  and  Boaz, 
the  descriptions  in  the  book  of  Job,  the  deliverance 
of  the  Jews  out  of  Egypt,  or  the  account  of  their 
*  English  Poets,  Lect.  1. 


TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  117 

captivity  and  return  from  Babylon  ?  There  is  in 
all  these  parts  of  the  Scripture  and  numberless  more 
of  the  same  kind — to  pass  over  the  Orphic  hymns  of 
David,  the  prophetic  denunciations  of  Isaiah,  or  the 
gorgeous  visions  of  Ezekiel — an  originality,  a  vast- 
ness  of  conception,  a  depth  and  tenderness  of  feeling, 
and  a  touching  simplicity  in  the  mode  of  narration, 
which  he  who  does  not  feel  must  be  made  of  no 
penetrable  stuiF/^ 

The  opinion  of  such  a  man  as  ScJiIegel,  who  in  his 
History  of  Literature  manifests  a  knowledge  and  an 
appreciation  of  nearly  all  the  literary  productions  of 
ancient  and  modern  times,  is  certainly  worthy  of 
great  respect  and  deference.  Speaking  of  the  Psalms 
of  David,  Prophecies  of  Isaiah,  and  other  parts  of 
Scripture,  he  says:  ^They  possess  a  splendour  and 
sublimity,  which,  considered  merely  as  poetry,  excite 
our  wonder,  and  disdain  all  comparison  with  any 
other  composition.'^ 

Lamartine,  the  French  poet,  historian,  and  orator, 
thus  speaks  of  the  poetry  of  the  Psalms: — 'David  is 
the  Psalmist  of  eternity;  what  a  destiny — what  a 
power  hath  poetry,  when  inspired  of  God!  As  for 
myself,  when  my  spirit  is  excited,  or  devotional,  or 
sad,  and  seeks  for  an  echo  to  its  enthusiasm,  its  de- 
votion, or  its  melancholy,  I  do  not  open  Pindar,  or 
Horace,  or  Hafiz,  those  purely  Academic  poets; 
neither  do  I  find  within  myself  murmurings  to  ex- 
press my  emotions.  I  open  the  book  of  Psalms,  and 
there  I  find   words   which   seem  to  issue  from  the 

^  Dramatic  Lit.  Lect.  1.  ^  His.  of  Lit.  Lect.  4. 


118  LITERAEY   EXCELLENCE. 

soul  of  ages,  and  which  penetrate  to  the  heart  of 
all  generations.  *  *  *  Prophet  or  not,  as  he 
may  be  considered  by  Christian  or  sceptic,  none  can 
deny  in  the  poet-king  an  inspiration  granted  to  no 
other  man.  Kead  the  Greek  or  Latin  poetry  after 
a  Psalm,  and  see  how  pale  it  looks.'^ 

^  Quoted  in  various  periodicals  from  Lamartine's  Cours  de 
Litterature. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN   TO   THE 
LITERARY    EXCELLENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE — 

Conthiued. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  we  presented  the  testi- 
mony of  four  distinguished  men,  one  from  each  of 
the  four  great  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth ;  men 
who,  though  believers  in  the  divine  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures,  are  not  generally  regarded  as  deeply 
devotional,  and  hence  are  considered  by  some  as  more 
likely  to  be  impartial  judges.  But  Ave  are  not  yet 
done  with  this  kind  of  evidence.  We  now  invite 
attention  to  the  testimony  of  sceptics  and  infidels. 

Perhaps  no  man  of  the  present  age  had  as  general 
an  acquaintance  with  science  and  literature  as  Baron 
Von  Humboldt  of  Germany.  In  religious  matters  he 
was  a  sceptic.  William  Humboldt,  his  brother,  held 
a  sort  of  compound  belief  made  up  of  a  few  of  the 
principles  of  natural  theology,  the  idea  of  fate,  and 
such  views  of  God  and  nature  as  were  held  by  the 
more  intelligent  of  the  ancient  Grecians,  Romans, 
and  Germans.^  But  it  is  to  be  doubted  whether 
Alexander  Humboldt  had  any  religious  belief  at  all. 
In  his  writings, — even  in  his  most  celebrated  work, 

^  Lives  of  the  brothers  Humboldt  by  Klencke  and  Schle- 
sier,  p.  323. 

119 


120  LITER  A  BY   EXCELLENCE. 

the  CosmoSy  in  which  he  treats  of  the  whole  universe 
so  far  as  made  known  to  man  through  observation 
and  science, — he  hardly  alludes  to  the  existence  of 
the  Creator,  or  to  His  superintending  providence. 
Yet  this  man,  so  gifted,  learned,  and  accomplished, 
and  withal  so  sceptical  as  to  assure  the  opponents  of 
the  divine  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  of  his  can- 
dour and  impartiality,  has  left  on  record  a  most  ex- 
alted opinion  of  the  poetry  of  the  Hebrews.  In  his 
Cosmos  he  says,  the  Psalms  of  David  possess  all  the 
splendour  of  lyric  poetry;  and  the  Hebrew  poetry 
in  general  an  innate  exalted  sublimity;  that  not- 
withstanding its  grandeur  and  its  lofty  tone  of  ex- 
altation, it  remains  clear  and  simple  amid  the  most 
figurative  forms  of  expression,  delighting  in  com- 
parisons which  recur  with  almost  rythmical  regu- 
larity; that  it  is  grand  and  solemn,  and,  when  it 
treats  of  the  earthly  condition  of  mankind,  is  full  of 
sad  and  pensive  longing.  He  further  says,  that  the 
historical  narratives  are  marked  by  a  graceful  sim- 
plicity, and  are  most  true  to  nature;  but  that  the 
Psalms  are  more  adorned,  and  develop  a  rich  and 
animated  conception  of  natural  life;  and  that  a 
single  one  of  them  (the  104th)  represents  the  image 
of  the  w^hole  Cosmos.  '  We  are  astonished,'  says  he, 
Ho  find  in  a  lyrical  poem  of  such  a  limited  compass, 
the  whole  universe — the  heavens  and  the  earth — 
sketched  with  a  few  bold  touches.'^  It  is  thus  seen 
that  this  master  of  literature  and  science  represents 
the  poetry  of  the  Bible  as  characterized  by  splendour, 
^  Cosmos,  vol.  2,  pp.  411-13. 


TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  121 

solemnity,  grandeur,  graceful  simplicity,  rythmical 
regularity,  exalted  sublimity,  fidelity  to  nature,  and 
astonishing  comprehensiveness. 

Gothcy  the  greatest  of  German  poets,  considered 
by  many  the  greatest  poet  and  literary  man  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  has  also  borne  important  testi- 
mony to  the  literary  excellence  of  the  Bible.  Hum- 
boldt remarks  that  the  little  book  of  the  o-Jeaner 
Ruth  presents  us  with  a  charming  and  exquisitely 
simple  picture  of  nature,  and  then  adds:  ^Gothe,  at 
the  period  of  his  enthusiasm  for  the  East,  spoke  of 
it  as  the  loveliest  specimen  of  epic  and  idyl  poetry 
which  we  possess.'^  In  one  of  his  own  productions, 
he  speaks  of  the  Bible  as  ^a  work  composed  in  the 
most  various  styles,  with  its  poetic,  warning,  and 
instructing  spirit.'^  He  also  says,  that  the  Bible  is 
so  full  of  matter  that  it  offers,  more  than  any  other 
book,  material  for  reflection  and  opportunity  for 
meditation  on  human  affairs.  Again;  speaking  of 
the  growth  of  infidelity  in  Germany,  he  says:  ^En- 
glish, French,  and  Germans  had  assaulted  the  Bible 
with  more  or  less  violence,  acuteness,  audacity,  and 
wantonness;  and  just  as  often  had  it  been  taken 
under  the  protection  of  earnest,  well-minded  men  of 
each  nation.  As  for  myself,  I  loved  and  valued  it: 
for  almost  to  it  alone  did  I  owe  my  moral  culture; 
and  its  events,  its  doctrines,  its  emblems,  its  similes 
had  all  stamped  themselves  deeply  upon  me,  and 
had  influenced  me  in  one  way  or  another.  These 
unrighteous,  scoffing,  and  subversive  attacks,  tliere- 

^  Cosmos,  vol.  2,  p.  415.      ^  Xrutb  and  Poetry,  B.  11. 
11 


122  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

fore,  disgusted  me.'^     In   regard   to  these  declara- 
tions, we  remark : 

1.  Gothe  rejected,  or  at  least  doubted,  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Scriptures.  Viewing  them  merely  as 
human  productions,  he  regarded  them  as  the  booh  of 
books,  and  as  furnishing  the  loveliest  specimen  of 
idylic  and  epic  poetry  in  existence. 

2.  He  reirarded  the  Bible  as  more  abundant  in 
matter,  and  as  furnishing  richer  material  for  reflec- 
tion, than  any  other  book.  This  indicates  excellence 
of  the  highest  kind— fidbiess  and  suggestiveness. 

3.  To  the  Bible  Gothe  owed  his  moral  culture. 
Gothe's  chief  characteristic  was  culture;  and  by  it  he 
meant  the  development  of  his  esthetic  powers ;  the 
training  of  intellect,  judgment,  imagination,  and  taste 
to  feel,  perceive,  and  admire  the  beautiful  and  grand. 
The  Hebrew  bards,  prophets,  and  apostles  furnished 
the  beautiful  thoughts  and  figures,  and  the  sublime 
conceptions  and  visions,  which  purified  the  taste, 
invigorated  the  intellect,  and  fired  the  imagination 
of  the  young  poet.  They  prepared  the  nectar  and 
ambrosia  on  which  he  fed,  until  he  became  like  gods 
knowing  good  and  evil.  The  excellence  which  Gothe 
thus  indirectly  attributes  to  the  Scriptures  is  of  the 
very  highest  kind. 

Rousseau,  though  born  in  Geneva,  was  by  descent 
and  in  character  a  Frenchman.  He  was  guilty  of 
heartless  selfishness  and  base  immorality;  but  he  was 
a  man  of  genius,  and  a  fascinating  writer.  His  bril- 
liant though  fickle  mind  was  attracted  and  astonished 
1  Truth  and  Poetry,  B.  7. 


TESTIMONY   OF    EMINENT   MEN.  123 

by  the  beauty  and  dignity  of  the  sacred  writings. 
Their  literary  excellence  led  him  almost  to  believe, 
and  in  his  calmer  moments  perhaps  altogether  to  be- 
lieve, in  their  supernatural  inspiration.  In  his  Emile 
he  says: — 'I  confess  to  you  also,  that  the  majesty 
of  the  Scripture  astonishes  me;  the  holiness  of  the 
Gospel  appeals  to  my  heart.  Consider  the  books 
of  the  philosophers;  with  all  their  pomp,  how  little 
they  are,  compared  with  the  Gospel!  Is  it  possible 
that  a  book  at  once  so  sublime  and  so  simple  should 
be  the  work  of  man?  ^  ^  ^  t^  ^q  Jewish  au- 
thors were  capable  either  of  such  diction  or  such 
morality;  and  the  Gospel  has  marks  of  truth  so 
grand  and  striking,  so  perfectly  inimitable,  that  the 
inventor  would  be  more  astonishing  than  the  hero. 
With  all  that,  this  same  Gospel  is  full  of  incredible 
things,  things  which  are  repugnant  to  reason,  and 
which,  it  is  impossible  for  any  man  of  sense  to  con- 
ceive or  admit.  What  are  we  to  do  in  the  midst 
of  all  these  contradictions?  We  should  always  be 
modest  and  circumspect,  my  child;  respect  in  silence 
what  we  can  neither  reject  nor  understand;  and 
humble  ourselves  before  the  great  Being,  who  alone 
knows  the  truth.'^ 

Such  is  the  remarkable  testimony  of  the  strange 
and  fickle,  but  gifted  and  brilliant  Jean  Jacques 
Housseau  to  the  wonderful  and  transcendent  beauty 
and  dignity  of  the  Bible.  Every  unprejudiced  per- 
son must  see  that,  according  to  his  own  views,  he 
ought  to  have  received  it  at  once  as  the  word  of  God; 

*  Emile,  pp.  369-370. 


124  LITERACY    EXCE1,I,EXCE. 

aud  to  have  regiirded  those  thiuirs  which  he  coiiUi 
not  uuderstaiui,  or  which  seemed  incredible  lo  him, 
with  respectful  silence. 

Ernest  Faum  regurds  the  gospels  as  legends, 
Christ  as  an  erring  man,  and  the  whole  Bible  :is  a 
human  production.  Yet  he  declares  *the  Psalms  to 
be  the  eternal  poetry  of  religious  souls,  born  of  ex- 
alted pietism,  with  their  divine  and  melancholy 
harmonv.'^  Though  he  represents  the  gospel  history 
as  being  a  compilation  of  legendary,  fictitious,  and 
traditionary  narratives,  and  as  resulting  from  an  ob- 
scure and  popular  elaboration,  he  declares  it  to  be 
the  finest  thing  in  the  trorld.'  He  styles  the  author 
of  the  book  of  Daniel  the  real  creator  of  the  philoso- 
phy  of  histori/.^  To  the  prophets  he  ascribes  impet- 
uous eloquence,  and  splendid. and  enchanting  de- 
scriptions.^ 

Voltuire,  as  we  have  shown,  was  not  altogether 
blind  to  the  literary  beauties  of  the  Bible — hostile  as 
he  was  to  it  as  a  divine  revelation.  He  sometimes 
spoke  with  admiration  of  it  as  a  composition.  We 
present  one  brief  extract  from  his  writings: — 'The 
historv  of  Joseph,  considered  only  as  an  object  of 
curiosity  and  literature,  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
monuments  of  antiquity  which  have  reached  our 
times.  It  appears  to  have  been  the  model  of  all  the 
oriental  writers;  it  is  more  pathetic  than  Homer's 
Odvssev,  as  a  forgiving  hero  is  more  moving  than 
he  that  gluts  his  vengeance.  We  account  the  Arabs 
to  have  been  the  first  authors  of  those  ingenious  fic- 
»Viede  Jesus,  p.  50.     'p.  23.    'p.  77. 


TESmiOY   OF    EMINENT    MEN.  125 

tions,  wliich  have  been  adopted  in  all  other  languaj^es, 
but  for  my  part,  I  meet  with  no  tale  amon!^  them 
comparable  to  that  of  Joseph;  in  almost  every  part, 
it  is  of  admirable  beauty;  and  the  conclusion  draws 
forth  tears  of  tenderness.'^ 

That  the  poet  Bi/ron  was  sceptical  is  well  known. 
Yet,  as  is  mentione<:l  in  a  former  chapter,  he  admired 
the  Psalms  and  other  parts  of  the  Bible.  His  ex- 
alted opinion  of  the  poetry  of  the  Bible  is  evinced 
in  one  of  his  Hebrew  Melodies: — 

'The  harp  the  monarch  minstrel  swept, 
The  king  of  men,  the  loved  of  Heaven, 
Which  ma=ic  hallowed  while  she  wept 
O'er  tones  her  heart  of  hearts  had  given, — 
Redoubled  be  her  tears  I — its  chords  are  riven! 
It  softened  men  of  iron  mould. 
It  gave  them  virtues  not  their  own. 
No  ear  so  dull,  no  soul  so  cold. 
That  felt  not,  fired  not  to  the  tone, 
Till  David's  lyre  grew  mightier  than  his  throne.' 

Carlyhj  the  celebrated  essayist  and  historian,  speak- 
ing of  the  book  of  Job,  says : — ^I  call  that,  apart  from 
all  theories  about  it,  one  of  the  grandest  things  ever 
written  with  pen.  One  feels,  indeed,  as  if  it  were 
not  Hebrew;  such  a  noble  universality,  different 
from  noble  patriotism  or  sectarianism,  reigns  in  it. 
A  noble  Book;  all  men's  Book!  It  is  our  first, 
ablest  statement  of  the  never-ending  Problem — 
man's  dj-stiny,  and  God's  ways  with  him  here  in  this 
earth.  And  all  in  such  free,  flowing  outlines;  grand 
1  Phil.  Diet.  Art.  Joseph. 


126  LITERAIiy    EXCELLENCE. 

in  its  sincerity,  in  its  simplicity,  in  its  epic  melody 
and  repose  reconcilement.  There  is  the  seeing  eye, 
the  mildly  understanding  heart.  So  true  every  way  ; 
true  eyesight  and  vision  for  all  things;  material 
things  no  less  than  spiritual.  *  *  "*'  '•'  Sub- 
lime sorrow,  sublime  reconciliation;  oldest  choral 
melody  as  of  the  heart  of  mankind  ;  so  soft  and  great ; 
as  the  summer  midnight,  as  the  world  with  its  seas 
and  stars!  There  is  nothing  written,  I  think,  in  the 
Bible  or  out  of  it  of  equal  literary  merit.'^ 

It  is  well  known  that  the  V/estminstcr  Review  is  a 
determined  opponent  of  the  supernatural  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures.  Yet  it  fully  recognizes  their  liter- 
ary excellence.  We  present  the  following  extract: 
— '  Next  to  the  Bible,  I  believe  in  Shahspeare,  was  the 
spontaneous  avowal  of  an  intelligent  woman,  who, 
like  most  of  us,  had  felt  something  of  the  catholic 
wisdom  enshrined  iu  the  waitings  of  the  world's 
greatest  poet.  His  works,  echoes  a  learned  professor, 
liave  often  been  called  a  secular  Bible.  Common  sense 
and  erudition  thus  a2;ree  in  recoirnizino^  the  same 
broad  simplicity  and  universal  nature  in  the  splen- 
did utterances  of  Hebrew  and  English  intelligence, 
preserved  in  these  two  perennially  popular  books. 
Loth  alike  deal  with  the  greatest  problems  of  life; 
both  open  those  questions  which  knock  for  answer 
at  every  heart;  both  delineate  the  features  which 
mark  and  distiniiuish  individual  men.  In  both  wc 
find  earnest  thought  and  profound  conviction;  sub- 
tile and  homely  wisdom,  deep  historical  interest,  and 
^  Ilcro-worship,  p.  44. 


TESTIM02s[Y   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  127 

poetic  truth;  soaring  imagination,  sweet  lyrical  effu- 
sion, and  grand  prophetic  insight.  Both  draw  on 
legend,  on  fancy,  on  nature;  both  have  the  same 
kind  of  relative  veracity;  and  both  are  at  once  au- 
thentic and  fallible.'^ 

We  call  attention  to  several  points  presented  in 
the  foregoing  extract  or  suggested  by  it: — 

1.  This  able  literary  periodical,  though  persistent- 
ly advocating  infidelity,  places  the  Bible  on  a  level 
with  the  writings  of  Shakspeare,  the  world's  great- 
est poet.  It  even  endorses  the  decision  which  places 
Shakspeare  next  to  the  Bible. 

2.  Shakspeare's  design  was  to  entertain  and 
please,  and  hence  he  aimed  at  literary  excellence. 
Whatever  he  could  find  interestino;  in  historv,  he- 
roic  in  action,  terrible  in  passion  and  agony,  sublime 
in  thought  and  conception,  and  beautiful  and  grand 
in  nature,  he  endeavoured  to  present  in  his  dra- 
matic works  for  the  amusement  and  delight  of  man- 
kind. But  the  penmen  of  the  Bible  did  not  aim  at 
literary  excellence.  It  was  no  part  of  their  design 
to  write  beautiful,  grand,  sublime,  and  terrible  things 
for  the  entertainment  of  men.  Their  object  was  to 
instruct,  to  inculcate  theological  truth,  to  persuade 
men  to  break  off  from  their  sins  and  lead  godly 
lives. 

3.  Shakspeare  had  the  beauties  and  glories  of  the 
Bible  to  elevate  and  purify  his  thoughts  and  concep- 
tions. He  liad  the  accumulated  literary  treasures 
of   ages    and    nations    to    enrich    his    memory    and 

^  Westminster  Review,  Oct.  1863,  p.  173. 


128  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

strencrthen  his  imao-ination.  He  had  at  command  a 
language  remarkable  for  copiousness  and  flexibility. 
But  the  writers  of  the  Bible  were  pioneers  in  litera- 
ture. They  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  history 
and  literature  of  foreign  nations.  Shakspeare  quotes 
largely  from  the  Bible,  as  we  have  shown,  and  mani- 
fests his  acquaintance  with  many  other  books.  But 
the  Scripture  authors,  in  general,  write  as  if  they 
knew  not  that  any  books  but  their  own  were  in  ex- 
istence. 

4.  Notwithstanding  all  these  things,  of  all  the 
books  we  possess,  ancient  and  modern;  Hindu,  Per- 
sian, Chinese,  Grecian,  Roman,  xVrabic,  German, 
French,  or  English;  whether  philosophic,  historic, 
scientific,  poetic,  or  oratorical;  the  Bible  is  the  only 
one  comparable  to  the  writings  of  the  world'^reat- 
est  poet. 

6.  There  were  many  writers  of  the  Bible.  Even 
the  most  highly  poetic  parts  of  it,  and  those  marked 
by  the  higher  kinds  of  literary  excellence — Genesis, 
Ituth,  Job,  the  Psalms,  Prophecies  of  Isaiah,  Daniel, 
and  Ezekiel,  Lamentations,  the  Song  of  Songs,  and 
the  books  of  the  New  Testament — as  their  peculiari- 
ties of  thought  and  diction  show,  proceeded  not  from 
one,  but  from  many  pens.  Thus  the  Hebrew  nation 
produced  many  men  of  profound  conviction,  soaring 
imagination,  grand  prophetic  insight,  and  capable 
of  enchanting  the  world  with  their  splendid  utter- 
ances, j)oetic  truth,  and  sweet  lyrical  eiiusions; — the 
Hebrew  nation,  according  to  the  theory  of  the  mere 
human    authorship    of    the    Bible,    produced    many 


TESTIMONY   OF   EMINENT   MEN.  129 

Shakspeares,  while  all  the  rest  of  the  world  has  pro- 
duced but  one. 

6.  Shakspeare  is  our  poet,  the  poet  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  especially ;  though  in  one  sense  the  poet 
of  mankind.  Suppose  that  he  had  been  a  Spaniard 
or  a  Russian,  or  that  he  had  lived  thousands  of 
years  ago,  and  that  his  works,  composed  partly  in 
one  dead  language  and  partly  in  another,  were 
known  to  us  only  by  the  aid  of  dictionaries  and 
emasculating  translations;  and  suppose  that  Moses, 
David,  Solomon,  Isaiah,  Matthew,  John,  Paul,  and 
all  the  prophets  and  apostles,  had  written  in  our 
own  loved  vernacular;  then,  doubtless,  would  the 
Westminster  Review  have  uttered  its  glowing  pane- 
gyric on  the  Bible  alone,  and  been  as  silent  in  re- 
gard to  the  great  dramatic  poet  as  in  regard  to 
Gothe  and  Voltaire. 

Thus  have  we  recorded  in  these  three  immediately 
preceding  chapters  the  testimony  of  eminent  men  to 
the  surpassing  excellence  of  the  Bible  as  a  literary 
book.  We  have  not  stated  the  opinions  of  men 
merely  of  one  nation,  class,  or  profession;  but  of 
various  nations,  classes,  and  professions — English- 
men, Germans,  Frenchmen,  and  Americans;  clergy- 
men, jurists,  poets,  statesmen,  philosophers,  scholars, 
historians,  critics,  and  men  of  science;  men  eminent 
for  Christian  piety ;  men  merely  favorable  to  Chris- 
tianity; sceptics,  and  avowed  infidels.  We  have 
shown  that  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  great 
nations  of  the  earth — men  most  eminent  in  the 
learned  professions;    men    most   eminent  for   taste 


130  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

and  genius;  men  most  eminent  in  literary  achieve- 
ments; men  most  eminent  in  Christian  piety;  and 
men  most  eminent  in  the  advocacy  of  infidelity; 
men  most  eminent  for  everything  that  can  give 
authority  and  weight  to  their  opinions  in  the  case — 
do  almost  unanimously  testify  that  the  Bible  is  a  great, 
grand,  and  glorious  hook;  and  that  in  beauty,  pathos, 
eloquence,  fullness,  and  comprehensiveness  of  thought, 
in  grandeur  of  conception,  and  sublime  flights  of  im- 
agination, it  excels  all  other  boohs  in  the  icorld. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  EXCELLENCE   OF   THE   LYRIC   POETRY   OP 
THE    BIBLE. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  showed  the 
surpassing  excellence  of  the  Biblical  literature  in 
general.  But  there  is  one  portion  of  it  to  which  we 
wish  to  call  special  attention — the  psalms.  These 
constitute  the  main  part  of  the  lyric  poetry  of  the 
Hebrews.  This  kind  of  poetry — poetry  designed  to 
be  accompanied  with  music — is  found  among  all  or 
nearly  all  civilized  nations.  The  Hebrews,  like 
many  other  nations,  had  no  finished  epic  poems, 
like  the  Iliad  or  the  Paradise  Lost;  no  tragedies, 
like  those  of  Sophocles,  Shakspeare,  or  Voltaire;  no 
printed  orations,  like  those  of  Demosthenes,  Cicero, 
Pitt,  or  ^yebster;  no  printed  sermons,  like  those 
of  Chrysostom,  Massillon,  Chalmers,  or  Mason. 
Hence,  to  compare  the  whole  literature  of  the  Bible 
with  literature  in  general,  or  with  Grecian,  R,oman, 
English,  or  any  other  national  literature,  would  be 
like  comparing  the  stars  with  the  flowers,  the  lofty 
mountain  with  the  gigantic  river,  or  a  pastoral  poem 
with  a  political  speech.  We  can  prove  the  unparal- 
leled excellence  of  the  literature  of  the  Bible,  only 
by  demonstrating  that  it  excels  all  other  books  in 
the  simplicity  of  its  style,  in  the  purity  and  elevation 

131 


132  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

of  its  sentiments,  in  the  vividness  of  its  descriptions, 
in  the  truthfulness  of  its  delineations  of  nature  and 
of  human  character. and  passion,  in  the  sublimity  of 
its  thoughts,  the  grandeur  and  vastness  of  its  con- 
ceptions, and  the  abundance  of  the  materials  out  of 
which  epics,  tragedies,  finished  orations,  and  sermons 
are  made.  But  ballads,  hymns,  odes,  choruses,  con- 
stitute a  part  of  every  literature,  and  thus  we  have 
one  point  of  fair  comparison  between  the  literature 
of  the  Hebrews  and  that  of  other  nations. 

The  testimonies  cited  in  previous  chapters  to 
prove  the  superior  excellence  of  the  literature  of  the 
Hebrews,  serve  equally  well  to  prove  the  superior 
excellence  of  that  part  of  it  to  which  we  call  special 
attention — their  lyric  poetry.  Indeed,  many  of  these 
testimonies, — those  for  instance  of  Irving,  Taylor, 
Fenelon,  Addison,  Lamartine,  and  Plumboldt, — 
have  special  reference  to  the  Psalms.  But  the  fact 
should  be  noted,  that  the  Psalms  are  religious  lyrics; 
and  that  they  are  confessedly  superior  to  all  compo- 
sitions of  the  same  kind  that  have  been  produced  in 
any  age,  or  in  any  quarter  of  the  world.  We  make- 
no  comparison  between  the  lyrics  of  the  Bible  and 
those  of  Horace,  Burns,  or  Moore.  Such  a  com- 
parison would  be  absurd.  But  we  declare  that  no 
Christian  hymn-writer,  whatever  may  have  been  his 
genius  and  culture,  has  ever  produced  anything  equal 
to  the  Psalms;  and  that  in  religious  lyrics — the  liter- 
ary department  in  which  the  Bible  writers  come  into 
competition  with  all  the  world — they  stand  alone  in 
their  excellence. 

In  proof  of  the  surpassing  excellence  of  the  Bible 


THE   BIBLE   LYRICS.  -     133 

lyrics,  we  might  take  the  most  popular  religious 
songs  that  have  ever  been  written  in  the  Grecian, 
Eoman,  German,  English,  French,  and  Spanish  lan- 
guages; and  show  by  actual  comparison,  that  how- 
ever beautiful,  powerful,  and  sublime  they  may  be, 
some  of  the  Hebrew  Psalms  possess  still  more 
beauty,  power,  and  sublimity.  But  the  process 
would  be  a  tedious  one,  and  there  is  decisive  proof 
ready  at  hand — the  belief  of  the  Christian  world.  As 
we  have  shown.  Christians  most  eminent  for  piety, 
culture,  and  genius  have  declared  the  Psalms  to  be 
the  most  beautiful  and  sublime  compositions  in  the 
world.  There  are  no  psalms  in  general  use  among 
Christians  but  those  of  the  Bible.  Many  truthful, 
beautiful,  and  edifying  songs  have  been  written  by 
Christian  authors;  but  their  use  has  been  local  and 
temporary,  rather  than  general  and  permanent.  The 
hymns  of  the  Christian  Greeks  and  Eomans  are 
now  almost  unknown.  The  middle  ages  produced 
scarcely  a  song  which  Christians  of  the  present  day 
consider  either  beautiful  or  edifying.  The  more 
modern  hymns  are  sung  almost  exclusively  in  the 
lantruafres  in  which  thev  were  written.  Luther's 
hymns  are  sung  almost  alone  by  Germans  and  peo- 
ple of  German  descent.  The  use  of  the  beautiful 
hymns  of  Watts,  Cowper,  and  AVesley  is  confined 
mainly  to  those  who  speak  the  English  language. 
But  the  hymns  of  the  Hebrew  bards  are  translated, 
versified,  imitated,  and  sung  wherever  Christianity 
is  known.  A  living  author  says,  ^The  Psalms  are 
wonderful.  They  have  been  read,  repeated,  chanted, 
sung,  studied,  wept  over,  rejoiced  in,  expounded, 
12 


134  LITEEARY   EXCELLENCE. 

loved,  and  praised  by  God^s  people  for  thousands  of 
years/^  This  general  and  permanent  use  of  the 
Scripture  songs,  indicates  the  belief  of  the  Christian 
world  in  their  superiority  to  all  similar  productions; 
and  justifies  the  declaration  of  Lamartine,  that  David 
is  the  Psalmist  of  eternity.  A  writer,  whose  intelli- 
gence and  reputation  give  assurance  that  he  speaks 
the  common  sentiment  of  Christians,  says,  it  is  re- 
markable that  the  poetry  of  the  Hebrews  is  so  adapt- 
ed to  public  worship;  and  that  their  poetry  of  the 
religious  kind  is  all  of  a  high  order.^  Dr.  Tholuck, 
quoting  from  Herder,  says,  that  the  Psalms  are  the 
hymn  book  for  all  times;  that  they  are  flowers  that 
always  bloom  in  the  beauty  of  youth.^  Not  only  do 
Christian  people,  at  every  period  and  all  over  the 
earth,  find  no  compositions  more  suitable  to  express 
their  devotional  feelings  than  the  Psalms;  but  also 
these  ancient  songs  have  been  the  model  and  stand- 
ard of  modern  hymn-writers.  Dr.  Shedd  remarks; 
that  the  lyric  writers  of  the  Christian  church  have 
been  distinguished  for  excellence,  in  proportion  as 
they  reproduced  the  Psalter  in  the  forms  of  modern 
metrical  composition.*  This  declaration  is  sustained 
by  the  judgment  and  practice  of  the  Christian  world. 
Nor  does  the  excellence  of  the  lyric  poetry  of  the 
]>ible  consist  entirely  in  the  moral  and  religious 
truth  which  it  embodies.  A  fine  lyrical  poem,  like 
a  fine  oration  or  a  fine  historical  work,  must  excel  as 
a  literary  composition.  Indeed,  in  a  lyrical  poem, 
splendor  of  literary  execution  is  an  essential.     Ac- 

^  Dr.  Plumcr.        ^  Albert  Barnes.       ^  Com.  on  the  Psalms, 
intro.  sect.  1.  *  Ilomiletics,  p.  305. 


THE   BIBLE   LYRICS.  135 

cordingly,  the  uniform  testimony  of  those  best  qual- 
ified to  judge  is,  that  the  Psalms  are  characterized 
by  literary  excellence  of  the  most  exalted  kind.  IVIe- 
lancthon  declared  that  they  ^are  the  most  elegant 
work  extant  in  the  world/  The  declaration  of  Mil- 
ton concerning  them  is  as  follows;  ^JSTot  in  their 
divine  argument  alone,  but  in  the  very  critical  art 
of  composition,  they  may  be  easily  made  appear  over 
all  the  kinds  of  lyric  poesy  to  be  incomparable/ 
Lowth,  in  his  work  on  Hebrew  poetry,  says;  ^The 
sweetness  of  the  Psalms  in  composition,  sentiment, 
diction,  and  arrangement,  has  never  been  equaled  by 
the  finest  productions  of  all  the  heathen  Muses  and 
Graces  united;'  and  *you  will  seek  in  vain  for  mod- 
els more-  perfect/ 

The  Psalms,  then,  as  religious  lyrics,  are  more 
valued  by  Christians  in  general  than  any  other  com- 
positions. They  are  of  the  highest  order  of  literary 
excellence;  and  are  the  model  and  standard  of  Chris- 
tian hymn- writers.  Though  the  modern  writers  of 
religious  lyrics  enjoy  the  advantage  of  greater  learn- 
ing and  culture,  a  more  expanded  Christianity,  and 
richer  stores  of  religious  knowledge;  and  though 
they  compose  in  the  loved  vernacular  of  those  for 
whom  they  write; — they  have  yet  produced  nothing 
equal  to  the  Psalms,  that  originated  in  a  remote  and 
barbarous  age,  among  a  rude  and  secluded  people, 
and  in  a  language  that  ceased  long  ago  to  be  spoken. 
The  authors  of  these  ancient  lyrics  anticipated  the 
religious  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced periods  of  Christian  culture.  They  describe 
the  glories  of  the  Godhead,  the  scenes  of  nature,  and 


136  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

the  passions  and  workings  of  the  human  heart,  with 
so  masterly  a  hand,  as  to  astonish  and  delight  the 
world.  They  have  poured  out  strains  of  such  beauty 
and  sweetness,  and  executed  songs  with  such  neatness 
and  splendor,  as  to  become  the  models  of  all  succeed- 
ing ages,  and  to  make  competition  with  them  in 
their  own  department  impossible  even  by  the  genius, 
piety,  and  culture  of  the  most  refined  and  Christian 
portion  of  mankind. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   INFLUENCE    OF    THE    BIBLE    ON   THE 
FINE   APwTS. 

The  influence  of  the  Bible  on  music,  painting, 
sculpture,  and  architecture,  though  not  so  direct  as 
in  regard  to  poetry  and  eloquence,  has  been  very- 
great;  as  might  be  shown  by  many  facts  and  illus- 
trations. We  have  not  space,  however,  for  a  full 
discussion;  and  shall  attempt  but  little  more  than 
to  show,  that  the  best  subjects  and  highest  achieve- 
ments in  the  line  arts  have  been  suggested  by  the 
Bible. 

Art,  as  defined  by  Ruskin,  is  a  noble  and  express- 
ive language;  and  is  designed  to  represent  ideas. 
The  greatest  picture  is  that  which  conveys  to  the 
-mind  of  the.  spectator  the  greatest  number  of  the 
greatest  ideas;  and  he  is  the  greatest  artist  who  has 
embodied  in  his  work  the  greatest  number  of  the 
greatest  ideas.  The  importance  of  execution  in  art  is 
not  denied.  Execution  is  to  the  artist  what  versifi- 
cation is  to  the  poet.^  We  would  say — not  to  im- 
prove Ruskin's  definition,  but  to  guard  against  niis- 
apprehension — that  the  greatest  artist  is  he  who 
represents  in  his  works  the  greatest  ideas  in  the 
greatest  number  and  in  the  best  manner.     Success' 

^Modern  Painters,  P.  1,  sec.  1,  ch.  2. 
12*  137 


138  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

ill  art  depends  upon  the  excellence  of  the  ideas 
represented,  as  well  as  upon  the  skill  and  taste  with 
which  they  are  represented. 

Now,  the  Bible  and  Christianity  have  contributed 
greatly  to  the  improvement  of  the  fine  arts  by  en- 
larging  and  purifying  the  ideas  to  be  represented  in 
artistic  works.  This  point  can  be  best  illustrated 
by  referring  to  the  Grecian  artists.  As  is  well 
known,  the  fine  arts  reached  a  higher  state  of  per- 
fection in  Greece  than  in  any  other  ancient  country. 
The  Grecian  artists  have  never  been  excelled,  and 
perhaps  never  will  be  excelled,  as  copyists  of  the 
beautiful  forms  of  nature.  They  were  the  daintiest 
workmen  in  marble  and  paint  that  the  world  has 
ever  seen.  Zeuxis  painted  grapes  so  well,  that  the 
birds  came  to  eat  them.  Apelles  drew  the  picture 
of  a  horse  so  life-like,  that  a  real  horse  passing  by 
neighed  at  it.  Parrhasius  painted  a  curtain  so  well, 
that  Zeuxis  mistook  it  for  a  real  curtain;  and  when 
undeceived,  said,  'Zeuxis  has  deceived  birds,  but 
Parrhasius  has  deceived  Zeuxis  himseU?  But  skill- 
ful as  the  Grecian  artists  were  in  the  imitation  of 
natural  forms  and  colors,"they  were  deficient  in  idecis. 
Their  greatest  achievements  in  painting  and  sculp- 
ture were,  to  represent  the  faultless  form  of  a  sleep- 
ing Venus;  or  the  muscles  and  joints  of  Hercules. 
They  represented  mere  outward  beauty  in  their 
pictures  and  statues;  but  neglected  intellectual  and 
moral  beauty  almost  altogether.  Grecian  architect- 
ure was  defective  in  like  manner.  Its  columns  were 
graceful  and  perfect;  but  no  lofty  ideas  were  sym- 
bolized by  them.     A  Grecian  temple  was,  doubtless. 


INFLUENCE   ON    THE    FINE    ARTS.  139 

very  beautiful,  in  its  perfect  symmetry  and  pro- 
portions; but  it  lacked  the  dignity  and  grandeur 
which  spring  from  moral  and  spiritual  truth.  It 
rose  but  a  little  way  from  earth,  until  its  upward 
flight  was  cut  short  by  entablature  and  cornice. 
It  had  no  lofty  shafts  and  perpendicular  lines,  car- 
rying the  eye  and  the  mind  of  the  beholder  up  to 
heaven  and  to  God,  and  suggesting  hope  and  im- 
mortality. 

Of  many  of  the  great  and  noble  ideas  which  the 
Bible  and  Christianity  have  made  familiar  to  men 
in  modern  times,  the  Grecians  and  all  the  ancient 
Gentile  nations  were  entirely  ignorant,  or  knew 
but  little.  Of  faith,  hope,  and  immortality  they  had 
only  vague  and  indefinite  notions.  Of  holiness, 
meekness,  humility,  and  self-sacrificing  benevolence, 
they  had  scarcely  a  conception.  Thus,  knowing  but 
little  or  being  entirely  ignorant  of  these  lovely  and 
lofty  virtues  and  hopes,  they  of  course  did  not  rep- 
resent them  in  their  works.  Their  aim  was,  to 
represent  natural  beauty,  and  to  symbolize  the  god- 
like under  the  perfection  of  the  human  form.  Haz- 
litt  says,  ^the  Greek  statues  are  little  else  than  spe- 
cious forms.  They  are  marble  to  the  touch  and  to 
the  heart.  They  have  not  an  informing  principle 
within  them.'^ 

The  Bible  and  Christianity  also  did  much  for  the 
advancement  of  art  by  purifying  the  ideas  of  men. 
Ancient  art  was  degraded  by  association  with  false 
and   impure   religion.     Being  employed  to  imbody 

^  Eng.  Poets,  Lect.  1. 


140  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

the  ideas  which  such  religion  suggests,  it  became  the 
handmaid  of  licentiousness  and  obscenity.  Instead 
of  teaching  men  to  love  and  admire  beauty  and 
purity,  it  became  the  promoter  of  indecency  and  un- 
cleanness.  The  degradation  of  ancient  art  is  demon- 
strated by  this  one  fact,  that  many  of  the  statues 
and  pictures  found  in  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii 
were  so  vile,  that  they  had  to  be  removed  from 
public  sight.  But  art  was  delivered  from  this  de- 
basins^  bondao;e  throus^h  the  influence  of  Christian- 
ity.  It  supplanted  the  old  mythologies,  with  all 
their  obscenities  and  indecencies.  It  purified  the 
artist.  It  purified  the  people,  and  educated  them  to 
appreciate  the  good,  true,  and  beautiful.  It  inspired 
artists  and  men  in  general  with  the  love  of  moral 
and  spiritual  truth,  and  thus  led  to  the  presentation 
of  it  in  artistic  works.  The  great  service  which  the 
Bible  has  performed  in  behalf  of  art,  in  thus  enlarg- 
ing, purifying,  and  elevating  the  ideas  of  men,  is 
shown  by  the  fact,  that  the  greatest  artists  have  taken 
the  subjects  of  their  master-pieces  from  it.  That 
they  have  done  so,  and  that  the  Bible  has  suggested 
the  best  subjects  and  highest  achievements  in  art,  we 
now  proceed  to  show. 

1.  Painting. — The  Bible  has  furnished  the  finest 
themes  for  the  painter.  The  Cartoons  of  Raphael, 
the  world's  best  painter,  are  declared  by  Hazlitt  to 
be  'the  finest  comments  that  ever  were  made  on  the 
Scriptures.'^  Besides  the  Cartoons,  we  may  mention 
TJie  Transfiguration,  Preaching  of  Paul,  Vlsio)i  of 
^  Eng.  Poets,  Icct.  1. 


INFLUENCE  ON   THE   FINE  ARTS.  141 

Ezehiel,  and  Last  Judgment,  by  the  same  great  mas- 
ter. Ill  addition  to  these  master-pieces,  there  are 
The  Last  Judgment  by  Michael  Angelo;  Jacobus 
Ladder,  Hand  Writing  on  the  Wall,  Christ  in  Geth- 
scmanej  and  Christ  at  Emmaus,  by  E-embrandt;  The 
Annunciation,  Fall  of  the  Damned,  and  Resurrection 
of  the  Just,  by  Rubens;  Hoses  Striking  the  Hock,  The 
Deluge,  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise,  Moses  Receiving 
the  Law,  Abraham  and  Isaac,  Raid's  Shipwreck, 
Christ  Rejected,  and  Death  on  the  Rale  Horse,  by 
West.  The  list  might  be  much  extended  by  referr- 
ing to  the  Works  of  Salvator  E-osa,  Titian,  Tinto- 
retto, Northcote,  Van  Dyke,  and  other  celebrated 
painters;  but  it  includes  enough  to  remind  the  read- 
er that  the  subjects  of  the  best  pieces  of  painting  are 
taken  from  the  Scriptures.  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
the  celebrated  English  painter,  recommends  as 
themes  for  the  pencil  what  he  calls  Uhe  capital  sub- 
jects of  Scripture  history.^^  Many  of  the  most  cele- 
brated painters  have  been  admiring  and  diligent 
students  of  the  Bible.  Such  was  the  artist  just  re- 
ferred to,  Sir  J.  Reynolds.  Michael  Angelo  had 
the  greater  portion  of  the  Scriptures  committed  to 
memory.  They  were  the  constant  study  of  Raphael. 
Flaxman's  cliief  delight  was,  to  make  designs  from 
the  poets,  the  Rilgrim's  Progress,  and  the  Bible. 
Fuseli  read  the  Bible  in  the  original  Hebrew.  Al- 
bert Durer  was  w^ell  versed  in  the  Scriptures. 

2.    Music. — We    have    already   shown    that    the 
Psalms  are  the  best  religious  lyrics  in  existence; 

*  Discourses,  p.  49. 


142  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

and  that  the  next  best  are  those  that  have  been 
modeled  after  them.  The  largest  number  of  our 
anthems,  chants,  oratorios,  and  musical  pieces  of 
every  kind,  have  subjects  taken  from  the  Scriptures. 
The  Te  Dcum  Laudamus,  Gloria  Fatri,  Gloria  in 
Excelsis,  Jubilate  Deo,  Vesper  Hymn,  Handel's  Mes- 
siah, Esther,  Samson,  Jephtha,  and  Israel  in  Egypt, 
Mendelssohn's  Pait^  and  Elijah,  Haydn's  Creation, 
and  Mozart's  Requiem,  and  other  pieces  which,  \vith 
those  named,  constitute  the  grandest  music  in  the 
world, — have  subjects  taken  from,  or  suggested  by 
Bible  history,  doctrines,  or  poetry.  Even  sceptics 
and  other  secular  writers,  have  taken  musical  sub- 
jects largely  from  the  same  source.  The  subject 
and  materials  of  Voltaire's  Samson  are  taken  from 
the  Bible.  The  same  is  true  of  Goldsmith's  oratorio 
of  the  Captivity.  There  is  an  incdmplete  oratorio  of 
Campbell's  from  the  book  of  Job.  The  subjects  of 
Moore's  Sacred  Songs  and  Byron's  Hebrew  Melodies 
are  also  taken  from  the  Bible. 

The  introduction  of  Christianity  did  more  than  to 
furnish  musical  composers  with  their  best  subjects. 
The  most  noble  pieces  of  music,  that  had  been  com- 
posed in  preceding  times,  were  invested  with  a  more 
etherial  and  solemn  harmony,  by  their  adaptation  to 
Christian  Avorship  and  employment  in  it;  musical 
masters  were  stimulated  to  compose  pieces  adapted 
to  the  highest  end  of  music — the  praise  of  Almighty 
God;  and  music  itself  was  elevated  and  ennobled,  by 
its  employment  to  represent  the  grandest  thoughts 
attained  by  the  human  mind. 

3.  Architecture. — The   influence  of  the   Bible  on 


INFLUENCE   ON   THE    FINE   ARTS.  143 

this  branch  of  art  has  also  been  great  and  beneficial. 
Michael  Angelo  and  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  the 
most  celebrated  architects  of  modern  times,  derived 
from  it  the  conceptions  which  they  embodied  in 
their  works.  The  Gothic  style,  and  nearly  all  the 
improvements  that  have  been  made  in  architectnral 
art  in  modern  times,  were  suggested  by  it.  Gothic 
architecture,  with  its  perpendicular  lines,  tall  and 
graceful  shafts,  flying  buttresses,  windows  of^stained 
glass  giving  out  celestial  colors,  pointed  arches,  and 
spires  reaching  toward  heaven, — is  designed  to  sym- 
bolize the  lifting  up  of  the  soul  to  God,  spiritual 
hope,  blessed  immortality,  and  other  doctrines  and 
ideas  derived  from  the  Scriptures.  The  Grecians, 
so  far  as  the  beauty  of  proportion  and  symmetry, 
and  finish  of  execution  are  concerned,  were,  doubt- 
less, the  world's  ^^finest  architects.  But  the  Jews, 
who  did  not  cultivate  the  fine  arts,  had,  five  hun- 
dred years  before  the  erection  of  the  Parthenon,  the 
grandest  building  in  the  world.  Doubtless  a  Gre- 
cian temple,  with  its  columns  and  capitals,  entabla- 
ture and  cornice,  all  of  snowy  whiteness  and  perfect 
finish,  as  it  flashed  in  the  sunlight  was  a  thinf>-  of 
beauty.  But  its  beauty  was  for  the  eye  alone.  It 
lacked  the  beauty  and  grandeur  that  spring  from 
the  suggestions  of  moral  and  spiritual  truth.  Had 
the  cultivated  Greeks  possessed  a  knowledge  of  the 
grand  and  glorious  doctrines  revealed  in  the  Bible 
concerning  God,  heaven,  and  immortality,  how  much 
more  noble  would  have  been  their  achievements  in 
architecture,  as  well  as  in  other  arts!     • 

4.  Sculpture. — This  branch    of  art   deals   almost 


144  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

exclusively  with  mere  form;  and  hence  is  not  so 
well  adapted  to  represent  intellectual  and  moral 
beauty.  Yet  the  Bible  has  furnished  some  of  the 
linest  themes  for  the  sculptor;  as  well  as  for  the 
painter,  musician,  and  architect.  We  may  mention 
the  3foseSy  ChrUt  bearing  his  Cross,  the  Dead  Christy 
Samson,  David,  and  Matthew,  by  Michael  Angelo ; 
the  Twelve  Apostles,  by  Thorwaldseii ;  CAmf,  JlotJier 
of  Pity,  and  Eight  Apostles,  by  Bonchardon;  Adam 
and  Eve,  by  Baccio;  and  Eve,  by  Powers.  The 
subjects  of  the  master-pieces  of  the  most  celebrated 
sculptors  of  modern  times  have  been  taken  from  the 
Bible. 

Thus  we  have  reminded  the  reader  that  the  Bible 
has  suggested  the  best  subjects,  and  the  most  glori- 
ous achievements,  in  all  the  fine  arts.  The  ideas 
represented  in  the  master-pieces  of  art  are  taken 
from  it.  If  any  further  proof  of  this  fact  than  what 
is  above  given,  is  needed,  it  may  be  found  in  the 
declaration  of  Schlegel,  that  the  old  masters  of  a 
loftier  time  preferred  Christian  subjects,  and  de- 
voted their  grandest  and  most  important  works  to 
the  honor  of  religion.  To  such  an  extent  did  those 
old  masters  thus  jiractise,  that  many  young  artists, 
who  confined  themselves  to  the  study  of  them,  have 
been  led  into  the  error  of  selecting  Christian  subjects 
almost  exclusively.^ 

It  may  be  objected,  that  Christianity  has  often 
discouraged  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts.  Doubt- 
less there  is  some  seeming  foundation  for  this  objec- 
*  JEsthetics,  Mod.  Ger.  Paintings. 


INFLUENCE  ON  THE   FINE   ARTS.  145 

tion.  The  relifrious  teachers  of  the  Jews  did  not 
encourage  painting  and  sculpture,  lest  these  arts 
should  become  subservient  to  idolatry.  Pictures  and 
statues  were  almost  sure  to  be  thus  employed,  and 
hence  were  contraband  among  the  ancient  worship- 
])ers  of  the  true  God.  Perhaps  the  Christians  gen- 
erally in  the  first  centuries  were  prejudiced  against 
painting  and  sculpture,  because  of  their  prostitution 
to  idolatry  and  uncleanness.  In  like  manner,  the 
Puritans  of  England  in  the  seventeenth  century 
were  prejudiced  against  not  only  some  of  the  fine 
arts,  but  also  some  harmless  amusements  and  com- 
mendable refinements.  Such  prejudices  are  natural 
and  unavoidable.  Men  are  so  constituted,  that  they 
dislike  whatever  is  closely  associated  with  things 
they  hate.  Christians  are  no  exception  in  this  re- 
spect. The  aversion  of  the  early  Christians  for 
painting  and  sculpture  is  evidence  of  the  purity  of 
their  religion;  but  not  of  its  hostility  to  the  fine 
arts.  Besides  tiiis,  it  should  be  remembered,  that 
the  early  Christians,  the  Reformers,  and  the  Purit- 
ans, were  too  earnest  and  busy  to  devote  much  time 
and  attention  to  pictures,  statues,  fine  music,  and 
fine  buildings.  They  had  something  else  to  do,  and 
they  did  it.  The  fine  arts  have  been  most  largely 
cultivated  by  those  who  had  abundance  of  leisure. 
Often  have  tyrants  and  despots  unintentionally  fa- 
vored the  development  of  artistic  talents,  by  pre- 
venting the  development  of  any  other  kind.  Paint- 
ing, sculpture,  and  the  other  branches  of  art, 
flourish  most  where  there  are  many  people  who 
have  nothing  else  to  do  than  admire  pictures,  stat- 
13 


146  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

ues,  fine  buildings,  and  fine  music.  The  contempt 
and  aversion  which  Christians  have  often  manifested 
for  the  beautiful  creations  of  art,  were  not  inspired 
by  Christianity  or  the  Bible;  but  by  these  have 
been  furnished  the  best  subjects  and  ideas  to  the 
artists  of  modern  times. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FACTS  WHICH   ILLUSTRATE  THE  LITERARY 
EXCELLENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

1.  Its  success  as  a  literary  production.  It  is  more 
read  than  any  other  book.  In  the  case  of  other 
books,  success  is  regarded  as  incontestable  evidence 
of  excellence.  Milton  determined  ^to  write  some- 
thing which  the  world  would  not  willingly  let  die;' 
and  the  fact  that  Paradise  Lost  is  widely  read  is 
universally  admitted  as  proof  of  its  superior  merit. 
A  worthless  book  may,  indeed,  be  temporarily  popu- 
lar. As  in  morals,  so  in  literature  the  voice  of  the 
people  is  not  always  the  voice  of  truth;  but  the 
voice  of  the  ages  is.  Tried  by  this  criterion,  the 
Bible,  in  point  of  literary  excellence,  is  far  above 
eyery  other  book.  It  may  be  objected,  that  the 
Bible  is  read  by  many  because  they  believe  it  to  be 
a  divine  revelation.  But  this  fact,  since  Bible  read- 
ers are  among  the  most  enlightened  portion  of  man- 
kind, only  sets  its  literary  excellence  in  a  stronger 
light.  The  perfection  of  art  is  to  conceal  art.  The 
birds  coming  to  eat  the  grapes  painted  by  Zeuxis, 
and  the  horse  neighing  at  his  own  likeness  in  the 
picture  of  Parrhasius,  proved  the  surpassing  skill 
of  the  artists.  If  the  claims  of  the  Bible  to  divine 
inspiration  are  false — if  its  narratives  are  fictitious 

147 


148  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

or  legendary — what  prodigies  of  genius  and  skill 
must  its  writers  have  been,  who  described  imaginary 
scenes,  characters,  and  events,  and  recorded  fictions 
or  legends,  with  such  consummate  art  as  to  deceive, 
not  birds  and  horses,  but  the  majority  of  scholars 
and  intelligent  people  during  eighteen  hundred 
years ! 

Suppose  that  Homer  had  described  the  sayings 
and  doings  of  the  imaginary  gods,  and  of  his  human 
heroes,  with  so  much  of  the  life-like  appearance  of 
reality,  that  his  readers  had  been  made  believe  his 
fictions  to  be  true  history, — as  many  of  the  ancient 
Greeks  doubtless  did; — would  that  have  detracted 
from  the  excellence  of  his  great  poem?  Milton  has 
incorporated  into  his  immortal  work  much  of  the 
history,  imagery,  and  doctrine  of  the  Bible;  and  its 
beauty  and  interest  are  enhanced  to  most  readers  by 
the  fact,  that,  believing  in  the  Bible  as  they  do,  they 
also  believe  the  main  part  oi  Paradise  Lost  to  be  real 
and  true.  Because  Milton  employed  the  doctrines 
and  narratives  of  the  Bible  to  impart  beauty  and 
sublimity  to  his  poem,  the  sceptic  does  not  admire 
him  or  his  poem  any  the  less.  He  thinks  that  Mil- 
ton displayed  judgment,  taste,  and  genius  by  pre- 
senting Hebrew  fictions  and  legends  as  dignified, 
grand,  and  life-like  realities.  How  much  greater 
must  have  been  the  skill  and  genius  of  the  ancient 
authors,  who  invented  or  gathered  up  these  fictions 
and  leg-ends,  and  presented  them  to  the  world  in  a 
book  so  truth-like,  beautiful,  eloquent,  and  god-like, 
that  the  nations  and  ages  have  read,  studied,  rever- 


PACTS.  149 

enced,  and  loved  it  as  the  production  of  the  Al- 
mighty ! 

The  claim,  then,  of  the  Bible  to  divine  inspiration 
does  not  nullify  the  evidence  of  its  literary  excel- 
lence drawn  from  its  success.  And  judged  by  this 
criterion,  it  is  incomparably  superior  to  every  other 
book.  It  is  read  everywhere,  by  people  of  every 
class,  and  on  all  occasions.  It  is  read  by  the  learn- 
ed and  unlearned,  by  old  and  young,  by  the  refined 
and  rude;  by  the  English,  Americans,  Germans, 
French,  by  all  enlightened  nations;  in  the  frozen 
regions  of  the  north  and  under  the  burning  rays  of 
the  vertical  sun ;  in  the  crowded  cities  of  Europe,  in 
the  forests  and  plains  of  the  New  World,  on  the 
shores  of  Africa,  and  in  the  jungles  of  India;  in  the 
mansion  and  the  cottage;  in  the  family,  the  school, 
and  the  college;  in  the  closet  and  in  the  public  as- 
sembly. It  is  read  at  the  bed-side  of  the  sick  and 
dying,  and  at  the  mournful  funeral.  Its  sanctions 
are  quoted  in  the  celebration  of  marriage  rites,  and 
at  the  baptism  of  infants.  It  is  used  on  occasions 
Off  national  thanksgiving,  and  of  national  fasting 
and  sorrow.  By  all  kinds  of  enlightened  people,  in 
all  enlightened  countries,  at  all  times,  on  all  occa- 
sions, in  hundreds  of  languages,  the  Bible  is  read. 

Coleridge  once  said,  pointing  to  a  well  worn  copji 
of  Cowper, '  that  is  fame !'  Macaulay  speaks  of '  thai 
wonderful  book,'  the  Pilgrim^  Progress,  as  obtaining 
admiration  from  the  most  fastidious  critics,  and  loved 
by  those  who  are  too  simple  to  admire  it;  as  extract- 
ing praise  from  Johnson,  the  most  pedantic  of  critics 
and  most  bigoted  of  Tories;  and  as  being  the  delight 
13* 


150  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

of  the  peasantry  in  the  wildest  parts  of  Scotland,  and 
a  favorite  in  every  nursery.  But  all  this  and  far 
more,  may  be  said  of  the  Bible.  There  are  thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  well-worn  copies  of  the  Bible 
where  the  name  of  Cowper  is  unknown.  Where 
*that  highest  miracle  of  genius/ the  work  of  Bun- 
yan,  counts  its  readers  by  hundreds  among  the  com- 
mon people,  the  Bible  counts  its  readers  by  thou- 
sands. All  who  love  the  Pllgrim^s  Progress  love  the 
Bible,  but  thousands  and  thousands  love  the  latter 
that  never  heard  of  the  former.  The  Bible,  too, 
extracts  praise  from  the  great  and  learned.  Bacon 
says  in  one  of  his  recorded  prayers,  'Thy  creatures 
have  been  my  books,  but  thy  Scriptures  much  more.' 
Sir  AValter  Scott  on  his  death-bed  called  for  the 
reading  of  the  Bible,  saying,  'There  is  but  one 
book.'  Newton  read,  studied,  wrote  on,  and  de- 
lighted in  it.  These  and  other  Christian  philoso- 
phers and  poets  revered  it  too  highly,  and  loved  it 
too  dearly,  to  allow  them  to  admire  it.  It  is  the 
sceptics — Gothe,  Humboldt,  Rousseau,  Renan,  and 
others — who  ignore  or  reject  the  supernatural  claims 
and  divine  authority  of  the  Bible,  and  read  it  only 
to  be  filled  with  its  beauty  and  grandeur,  that  ad- 
mire it  most  highly  as  a  literary  composition.  But 
by  one  class  and  another,  it  is  more  admired  and 
loved  than  any  other  book.  It  is  oftener  read,  quo- 
ted, referred  to,  borrowed  from,  and  commented  on, 
than  any  other  book.  It  is  studied,  prayed  over, 
wept  over,  and  rejoiced  in,  by  many  more  people 
than  any  other  book.     It  is  translated   into   more 


FACTS.  151 

languages,  has  a  deeper  hold  upon  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  men,  enters  more  into  national  thou2:ht 
and  individual  experience,  and  exerts  a  wider  and 
more  powerful  influence  on  the  opinions  and  actions 
of  men,  than  any  other  book.  It  is  a  book  which 
the  world  has  not  let  die,  and  will  not  let  die.  The 
popularity  and  success  of  the  world's  greatest  au- 
thors— Shakspeare,  Milton,  Bunyan,  Racine,  Gothe, 
Humboldt,  and  Macaulay — are  not  to  be  compared 
with  the  success  and  popularity  of  Moses,  David, 
Solomon,  Ezekiel,  John,  and  Paul.  The  Bible, 
judged  of  by  its  success,  is  by  far  the  most  valuable 
literary  work  in  the  w^orld. 

2.  Another  fact,  one  that  should  be  remembered 
in  connection  with  the  unparalleled  success  of  the 
Bible,  is  that  the  great  majority  read  it  only  in  trans- 
lations. Doubtless-  many  of  these  translations  are 
excellent.  Gothe  highly  commended  Luther's  Ger- 
man translation.^  It  is  regarded  as  the  standard  of 
classical  expression  in  the  High  Dutch  language. 
Klopstock  and  many  other  writers  of  the  first  rank, 
made  it  the  model  of  their  style.^  The  excellence  of 
the  English  version  is  universally  admitted.  A  Ro- 
man Catholic  writer  of  England  thus  speaks  of  it; 
'  Who  will  not  say  that  the  uncommon  beauty  and 
marvelous  English  of  the  Protestant  Bible  is  one  of 
the  strong-holds  of  heresy  in  this  country?  It  lives 
on  the  ear  like  music  that  cannot  be  forgotten;  like 
the  sound  of  church  bells;  which  the  convert  hardly 

1  Truth  and  Poetry,  B.  11. 

2  Schle.o-el's  His.  of  Lit.  Lect.  15. 


152  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

knows  how  he  can  forego.  Its  felicities  often  seem 
to  be  almost  things  rather  than  mere  words/^ 

Undoubtedly  the  above  mentioned  versions  and 
many  others  are  excellent.  But  to  attribute  the 
beauty  and  power  of  the  Bible  to  the  excellence  of 
the  translations  in  which  it  is  read,  is  absurd.  No 
faithful  translation  of  a  meritorious  book  can  be 
equal  to  the  original.  The  translator  of  an  inferior 
book,  by  alterations  and  emendations,  interpolating 
in  one  place  and  suppressing  in  another,  embellish- 
ing here  and  simplifying  there,  may  indeed  get  up 
something  superior  to  the  original.  It  is  also  possi- 
ble that  a  book  containing  good  thoughts,  but  infe- 
rior diction,  may  appear  to  better  advantage  in  a 
translation.  But  every  scholar  knows,  that  every 
well-written  work  must  lose  something  of  its  beauty 
and  power  by  translation.  Excellent  as  the  English, 
German,  French,  Latin,  and  other  translations  of 
the  Bible  are,  they  are  inferior  to  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  originals  in  beauty  and  power.  Speaking  on 
this  subject,  Daniel  Webster  said;  ^Much  of  the 
force  and  beauty  of  the  language  we  lose,  of  course, 
in  the  translation — much  from  our  ignorance  of  He- 
brew versification, — of  which,  indeed,  we  retain  only 
the  division  of  the  verses;  but  changed,  emasculated 
as  it  is,  where  sliall  we  look  for  its  like?'^ 

Why  cannot  we  have  translations  of  Homer  and 
other  ancient  poets  which  will  be  generally  read  and 
admired,  which  will  'live  on  the  ear  like  music  and 
the  sound  of  church  bells,'  and  which  will  become  a 

^  Dr.  Newman.        ^  Harper's  ]Mag.  vol.  12,  p.  498. 


FACTS.  153 

standard  and  model  of  style  and  expression?  It  is 
because  the  power  and  charm  of  Homer  and  other 
ancient  poets  lie  not  so  much  in  their  subjects,  con- 
ceptions, ideas,  and  imagery,  as  in  mere  style  and 
diction;  and  hence  in  translations  their  beauty  is 
destroyed,  or  greatly  impaired.  Indeed,  no  great 
poet,  except  the  Hebrew  bards,  is  much  read  or  ad- 
mired out  of  his  own  native  land.  Scholars,  indeed, 
do  read  foreign  poems  in  the  original  or  in  transla- 
tions. But  from  the  common  people,  the  poet — un- 
like the  prophet — has  no  honor  except  in  his  own 
country.  When  a  poem,  however  grand  and  beau- 
tiful, comes  to  us  diluted  in  a  translation,  it  loses  so 
much  of  its  strength  and  flavor,  that  it  becomes  an 
insipid  thing.  Not  one  in  ten — no,  not  one  in  a 
hundred  of  English  readers — knows  or  cares  any- 
thing about  Dante,  Racine,  Calderon,  or  Gothe. 

But  the  Bible  is  translated  into  and  read  in  almost 
every  language.  Though  it  was  written  long  ago — 
the  greater  part  of  it  thousands  of  years  ago;  in  for- 
eign tongues  now  dead;  in  lands  where  the  natural 
scenery  is  different  from  ours,  and  among  a  people 
whose  manners  and  customs,  laws  and  opinions,  and 
modes  of  thought  and  speech,  were  also  widely  dif- 
ferent from  ours;  and  though  it  comes  to  us  some- 
what impaired  in  beauty  and  power  by  translation; 
yet  it  is  more  at  home  with  us,  and  is  more  read  and 
studied  and  admired  and  loved,  than  any  of  our  own 
native  books.  It  talks  like  one  who  lisped  and 
learned  our  own  sweet  vernacular  in  childhood. 
And  it  is  at  home  not  only  in  our  own  country 
and  language,   but  in  every  country  and  language. 


154  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

Those  ancient  Hebrews,  secluded  and  unlearned  as 
they  were,  or  are  supposed  to  have  been,  have  given 
a  universal  book  to  men;  the  only  book  that  all  na- 
tions and  classes  can  understand,  appreciate,  and  ad- 
mire; the  only  book  the  translations  of  which  into 
the  vernacular  tongues  is  more  read  and  loved  by 
the  peoples  of  earth,  and  exerts  a  greater  influence 
upon  them,  than  the  productions  of  their  own  great- 
est poets. 

3.  Another  thing  which  shows  the  literary  excel- 
lence of  the  Bible,  is  the  influence  which  it  has  ex- 
erted in  the  promotion  of  education  and  learning. 
On  this  subject  a  volume  might  be  written.  AVe 
have  space,  however,  only  to  present  a  number  of 
facts  and  authorities. 

(1)  The  Bible  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  the 
promotion  of  knowledge,  education,  and  every  branch 
of  civilization  during  the  first  centuries  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  This  fact  is  fully  recognized  by  Guizot; 
who  speaks  of  Christianity,  which  is  the  religion  of 
the  Bible,  as  one  of  the  great  events  which  carried 
civilization  forward,  and  declares  that  it  did  so  be- 
cause it  changed  the  internal  condition  of  man,  his 
opinions  and  sentiments,  arid  regenerated  his  intel- 
lectual as  well  as  moral  character.^  It  is  true  that 
Christianity  did  not  at  first  directly  attack  the  great 
evils  which  prevailed  in  the  social  system,  and  which 
withstood  intellectual  as  well  as  moral  improvement. 
But  this  was  because  she  had  not  a  sufficient  number 
of  adherents  to  enable  her  to  attack  them  success- 
^  His.  of  Civilization,  Lect.  1. 


FACTS.  155 

fully.  Afterward,  when  she  had  gained  numbers 
and  influence,  she  did  attack  them,  and  abolished 
them.  At  first,  however,  she  necessarily  labored  to 
reform,  purify,  and  elevate  individuals;  and  in 
doing  so  she  became  the  great  promoter  of  civiliza- 
tion. 

(2)  Christianity  also  did  much  to  promote  civili- 
zation from  the  commencement  of  the  fifth  century 
onward,  during  the  time  that  the  lloman  empire  was 
being  over-run  by  the  barbarians.  The  author  quot- 
ed above  says,  that  during  this  period,  there  were 
among  the  Christian  ministers  men  of  profound  and 
varied  learning,  who  possessed  a  praise- worthy  zeal 
to  promote  knowledge  and  education;  that  the 
church  attacked  barbarism  at  every  point,  in  order 
to  civilize  and  rule  over  it;  and  that,  but  for  the 
church,  the  whole  world  must  have  fallen  a  prey  to 
mere  brute  force.^  It  is  true,  that  there  is  a  differ- 
ence between  Christianity  and  the  Christian  church. 
But  it  is  through  the  church,  and  through  Christian 
men,  that  Christianity  and  the  Bible  put  forth  their 
power. 

(3)  During  the  middle  age,  whatever  of  learning 
and  civilization  survived  the  influx  of  barbarism, 
were  preserved  by  Christianity  and  the  church. 
The  church,  in  her  monasteries  and  other  institu- 
tions of  learning — far  as  they  were  from  what  they 
ought  to  have  been — preserved  the  books  and 
manuscripts  which  contained  the  literary  and  sa- 
cred productions  of  former  generations,  and  which 

^  His.  of  Civilization,  Lects.  2  and  3. 


156  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

otherwise  would  have  perished  through  the  preju- 
dice and  barbarism  of  the  times.  The  service 
which  Christianity  and  the  church  thus  performed, 
has  been  very  happily  illustrated  by  Macaulay: — 
*The  church/  says  he,  Mias  been  many  times  com- 
pared by  divines  to  that  ark,  of  which  we  read  in 
the  book  of  Genesis;  but  never  was  the  resemblance 
more  perfect  than  during  that  evil  time,  when  she 
alone  rode,  amidst  darkness  and  tempest,  on  the 
deluge  beneath  which  all  the  great  works  of  ancient 
power  and  wisdom  lay  entombed;  bearing  within 
her  that  feeble  germ  from  which  a  second  and  more 
glorious  civilization  was  to  spring.'^  For  thus  pre- 
serving the  productions  of  ancient  genius  and  piety, 
and  keeping  alive  the  germs  of  civilization  during 
thai  dreary  night  of  barbarism — the  middle  age — 
Christianity  and  the  Christian  church  deserve  the 
gratitude  of  all  succeeding  generations. 

(4)  The  influence  of  the  Bible  in  behalf  of  learn- 
ing and  education,  was  very  great  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation.  All  the  historians,  philosophers,  and 
essayists,  who  have  written  concerning  that  great 
event,  except  the  Romanists  and  those  of  Romanist 
proclivities,  (as  for  instance  F.  Schlegel,)  recognize 
its  happy  effects  both  upon  the  moral  and  intellect- 
ual condition  of  mankind.  But  the  chief  cause  and 
instrument  of  the  Reformation  was  the  Bible,  and  to 
it  therefore  must  be  attributed  in  a  great  measure 
the  freedom  of  thought,  the  advancement  of  learn- 
ing, and  the  literary  activity  which  resulted  from 

1  His.  of  England,  ch.  1. 


FACTS.  157 

the  Reformation.  The  reformers,  Luther,  Calvin, 
and  Knox,  appealed  to  the  Bible  as  the  infallible 
word  of  God,  and  as  the  repository  of  all  the  moral 
and  theological  truth  attainable  by  man.  Infidels 
speak  of  it  as  a  reproach  to  the  reformers,  that 
though  they  delivered  the  human  mind  from  papal 
tyranny  and  oppression,  they  subjected  it  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Bible.  We  might  at  great  length  il- 
lustrate the  influence  of  the  Bible  in  producing  the 
Keformation,  and  the  influence  of  the  Reformation 
on  modern  history  and  the  advancement  of  civiliza- 
tion. But  as  we  must  consult  brevity,  we  will  pre- 
sent the  opinions  of  an  able  thinker  and  writer,  who 
is  not  likely  to  be  suspected  of  prejudice.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  influence  of  the  Bible  on  Luther's  mind, 
and  the  use  he  made  of  it  in  urging  on  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  the  happy  results  of  that  great  event,  Car- 
lyle  says: — ^It  must  have  been  a  most  blessed  dis- 
covery, that  of  an  old  Latin  Bible,  which  he  found 
in  Erfurt  library  about  this  time.  He  had  never 
seen  the  book  before.  It  taught  him  another  lesson 
than  that  of  fasts  and  vigils.  A  brother  monk,  too, 
of  pious  experience,  was  helpful.  Luther  learned 
now,  that  a  man  was  saved,  not  by  singing  masses, 
but  by  the  infinite  grace  of  God;  a  more  credible 
hypothesis.  He  gradually  got  himself  founded  as 
on  a  rock.  No  wonder  he  should  venerate  the  Bible, 
which  brought  this  blessed  help  to  him.  He  prized 
it  as  the  word  of  the  Highest  must  be  prized  by  such 
a  man.  He  determined  to  hold  by  that;  as  through 
life,  and  to  death,  he  firmly  did.     *     *     * 

*The  Diet  of  Worms,  Luther's  appearance   there 
14 


158  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

on  the  17th  of  April,  1521,  may  be  considered  the 
greatest  scene  in  Modern  European  History;  the 
point  indeed,  from  which  the  whole  subsequent  his- 
tory of  civilization  takes  its  rise.  *  *  *  j^  jg^ 
we  say,  the  greatest  moment  in  the  Modern  History 
of  Men.  English  Puritanism,  England  and  its  Par- 
liaments, America  and  vast  work  these  two  centu- 
ries, French  devolution,  Europe  and  its  work  every 
where  at  present,  the  germ  of  it  all  lay  there ;  had 
Luther  in  that  moment  done  other,  it  had  all  been 
otherwise.     *     *     * 

*The  most  interesting  phasis,  which  the  Reforma- 
tion anywhere  assumes,  especially  for  us  English, 
is  that  of  Puritanism.  In  Luther's  own  country, 
Protestantism  soon  dwindled  into  a  rather  barren 
affair;  not  a  religion  or  faith,  but  rather  now  a  the- 
ological jangling  of  argument,  the  proper  seat  of  it 
not  the  heart;  the  essence  of  it  sceptical  contention; 
which  indeed  has  jangled  more  and  more,  down  to 
Voltairism  itself,  through  Gustavus  Adolphus  con- 
tentions onward  to  French-Revolution  ones!  But 
in  our  Island  there  arose  a  Puritanism,  which  even 
got  itself  established  as  a  Presbyterianism  and  Na- 
tional Church  among  the  Scotch;  which  came  forth 
as  a  real  business  of  the  heart,  and  has  produced  in 
the  world  very  notable  fruit.     *     *     * 

*In  the  history  of  Scotland,  too,  I  can  find  proper- 
ly but  one  epoch;  we  may  say,  it  contains  nothing 
of  world  interest  at  all  but  this  Reformation  by 
Knox.     *     *     * 

'This  that  Knox  did  for  his  nation,  I  say,  we  may 
reallv  call  a  resurrection  as  from  death.      *      *      * 


FACTS.  1 59 

The  people  began  to  live;  they  needed  first  all  to  do 
that,  at  what  cost  or  costs  soever.  Scotch  Literature 
and  Thought,  Walter  Scott,  Robert  Burns;  I  find 
Knox  and  the  Reformation  acting  in  the  heart's  core 
of  every  one  of  these  persons  and  phenomena;  I  find 
that  without  the  Reformation  they  would  not  have 
been.  Or  what  of  Scotland?  The  Puritanism  of 
Scotland  became  that  of  England ;  of  New  England. 
A  Tumult  in  the  High  Church  of  Edinburgh  spread 
into  a  universal  Battle  and  struo^s^le  over  all  these 
realms;  there  came  out  after  fifty  years'  struggling 
what  we  call  the  ^Glorious  Revolution,'  a  Habeas 
Corpus  Act,  Free  Parliaments,  and  much  else. 

^Knox  resembles,  more  than  any  of  the  moderns, 
an  old  Hebrew  prophet.  The  same  inflexibility,  in- 
tolerance, rigid,  narrow-looking  adherence  to  God's 
truth,  stern  rebuke  in  the  name  of  God  to  all  that 
fi3rsake  truth ;  an  old  Hebrew  Prophet  in  the  guise 
of  an  Edinburgh  minister.'^ 

Such  is  the  opinion  of  a  profound,  though  a  scep- 
tical thinker,  in  regard  to  the  influence  of  the  Bible 
^nd  the  Reformation,  on  the  progress  of  civilization 
and  the  history  of  the  world.  There  are  those  who 
will  be  more  influenced  by  the  utterances  of  such  a 
man,  than  by  argumentation  and  the  citation  of  his- 
torical facts. 

(5)  It  was  by  the  influence  of  Christianity  that 
civilization  was  introduced  into  Great  Britain.  Ma- 
caulay  says  that  the  conversion  of  the  Anglo-Saxons 
to  Christianity  in  the  seventh  century  was  the  first 

^  Hero-worsliip,  pp.  116-133. 


160  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

ill  a  long  series  of  salutary  revolutions;  and  that  the 
Church — though  at  that  period  corrupted  by  super- 
stition and  philosophy,  against  which  she  had  long 
contended,  and  by  Roman  policy  and  Gothic  igno- 
rance, Grecian  ingenuity  and  Syrian  asceticism — 
even  yet  retained  enough  of  the  sublime  theology 
and  benevolent  morality  of  her  earlier  days,  to  ele- 
vate many  intellects  and  to  purify  many  hearts.^ 
Even  Plume  speaks  of  the  introduction  of  Christi- 
anity into  England  as  a  most  fortunate  and  memo- 
rable event.^  Burke  declares,  in  his  Abridgment  of 
English  History,  that  there  is  no  revolution  in  En- 
lish  history  so  remarkable  as  the  introduction  of 
Christianity;  that  light  scarce  began  to  dawn  until 
that  event  took  place;  and  that  it  brought  with  it 
letters  and  the  arts  of  civil  life.^  To  the  same  effect 
is  the  further  testimony  of  Macaulay,  who  declares 
that  learning  followed  in  the  train  of  Christianity.^ 

(6)  The  Bible  and  Christianity  have  done  much 
to  promote  learning  and  literature  by  the  establish- 
ment of  schools  and  colleges.  The  free-school  sys- 
tem originated  among  the  Protestants  at  Geneva. 
Calvin  himself  was  the  founder  of  it,  and  of  popular 
education.^  From  Geneva  the  common-school  sys- 
tem passed  into  Scotland  among  the  Presbyterians, 
and  into  En(i:land  among;  the  Puritans.  Free  schools 
were  first  established  in  the  United  States  by  the 
Puritans  of  New  England;  and  their  example  has 
been  followed  throughout  the  country,  except  where 
it  was  rendered   impracticable   by  slavery,  a  cause 

1  History  of  Eug.  ch.  1.  ^  m^  ^f  E^g^  ch.  1.  '  Works, 
vol.  2,  p.  512.     *  His.  of  Eng.  cb.  1.     ^  Bancroft's  Misc.  p.  405. 


FACTS.  161 

now  happily  no  longer  existing.  The  main  design 
of  the  New  England  Puritans  in  establishing  schools 
was,  to  promote  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures: — 
*It  being  one  chief  project  of  that  old  deluder  Sath- 
an,  to  keep  men  from  the  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
tures,' therefore  it  was  required  that  every  township 
should  maintain  a  school  for  reading  and  writing, 
and  every  town  of  a  hundred  householders  a  gram- 
mar school,  with  a  teacher  qualified  to  'fit  youths  for 
the  University/^ 

The  establishment  of  the  most  celebrated  colleges 
in  our  country  also  resulted  from  the  influence  of 
the  Bible  and  Christianity.  Harvard  University 
was  at  first  a  grammar  school  for  the  education  of 
gospel  ministers.  It  was  endowed  by  Rev.  John 
Harvard,  in  1639,  nineteen  years  after  the  first  set- 
tlement of  Massachusetts,  with  his  library  and  the 
half  of  his  estate,  and  was  erected  into  a  college.  It 
was  placed  under  the  superintendence  of  a  board  of 
overseers,  composed  of  the  magistrates  and  the  min- 
isters of  the  six  neighboring  churches.^  The  embryo 
oi"  Yale  College  was  a  school  for  the  education  of 
gospel  ministers.  The  college  of  William  and  Mary, 
founded  in  1691,  was  designed  to  educate  ministers 
for  the  Church  of  England.  Dartmouth  colleoje  was 
at  first  an  Indian  missionary  school.  Princeton  col- 
lege was  established  by  Presbyterians  in  1746; 
Hampden  and  Sidney  College  was  established  also 
by  Presbyterians  in  1774.  Brown  University  was 
established  mainly  by  the  Baptists  in  1764.     E,ut- 

1  Bancroft's  His.  ch.  10.      ^  Hildreth,  vol.  1,  pp.  370-1. 
14* 


162  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

ger's  College  was  established  in  the  interests  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  1770.  At  the  time  of  the 
llevolution,  there  were  in  the  colonies  three  colleges 
controlled  by  Congregationalists,  three  by  Episcopa- 
lians, two  by  Presbyterians  (including  Hampden 
and  Sidney  College,  established  in  1774),  one  by  the 
Baptists,  and  one  by  the  Dutch  Reformed.^  Nearly 
all  the  colleges  that  have  been  since  established  owe 
their  existence  to  the  influence  of  the  Bible  and  the 
efforts  of  Christian  men. 

In  Europe,  the  most  celebrated  colleges  had  a  simi- 
lar origin.  The  University  of  Cambridge,  in  Eng- 
land, is  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Sigebert,  who 
restored  Christianity,  and  introduced  learning  among 
the  Angles.  The  University  of  Oxford  was  found- 
ed or  repaired  by  king  Alfred.  Both  of  these  insti- 
tutions were  T)riginally  designed  to  educate  men  for 
the  Church. 

Of  the  twenty-six  German  universities,  thirteen 
belong  exclusively  to  the  Protestant  church,  eight 
to  the  Roman  Catholic,  and  five  to  the  two  church- 
es qpnjointly.  They  were  founded -r by  emperors, 
princes,  or  ecclesiastical  dignitaries;  in  a  few  cases 
by  the  magistrates  of  cities.  One  who  knows  where- 
of he  affirms  says,  that  the  motives  of  the  founders 
were,  without  exception,  pure  and  elevated,  and  gen- 
erally pious  and  Christian?  There  ma}^  be  opponents 
of  the  religion  of  the  Bible  occupying  the  position  of 
teachers  in  German  universities,  but  every  one  of 
these  institutions   was  established  for  the  promotion 

^Hildreth,  vol.  1,  p.  2G3;  vol.  2.  pp.  254,  578. 
2  Schaff's  Germany,  p.  32. 


FACTS.  163 

of  it.  Strauss  was  dismissed  from  the  University 
of  Tubingen  an  account  of  his  Leben  Jesu. 

The  Sorbonne,  the  university  of  Paris,  was  a  theo- 
logical as  well  as  literary  institution.  It  was,  indeed, 
the  great  theological  school  in  the  thirteenth  centu- 
ry; and  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first  institution 
named  University  indicates  that  in  that  age  Chris- 
tian theology  was  regarded  as  the  chief  science,  and 
as  the  connecting  bond  among  all  the  rest. 

In  Spain,  during  the  reign  of  Isabella,  both  re- 
ligion and  learning  were  greatly  encouraged.  Col- 
leges were  established  in  most  of  the  large  cities. 
The  most  famous  institution  of  learning  in  Spain 
was  the  University  of  Alcala,  founded  by  cardinal 
Ximenes.  It  contained  forty-two  professorships; 
of  which  six  were  appropriated  to  theology,  and  the 
rest  to  canon  law,  ancient  languages,  fuedicine,  and 
other  branches  of  learning  and  art.  Ximenes  valu- 
ed especially  those  branches  of  learning  which  aid  in 
the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  Under  his  pat- 
ronage, the  University  of  Alcala  executed  the  Poly- 
glot version  of  the  Scriptures,  ^  the  most  stupendous 
literary  enterprise  of  that  age.'^  When  the  Scrip- 
tures ceased  to  be  valued  in  Spain,  learning  lan- 
guished, and  the  colleges  declined. 

These  facts  may  serve  to  remind  the  reader  of 
what  the  Bible  has  done  to  promote  education  and 
learning.  Even  where  it  has  encountered  opposi- 
tion, it  has  kept  alive  the  spirit  of  inquiry,  and 
stimulated  scientific  investigation  and  literary  effort. 
^  Prescott's  Ferd.  and  Isa.  vol.  2,  p.  204;  vol.  3,  pp.  318-9. 


164  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

Where  it  is  a  sealed  book,  or  is  altogether  unknown ; 
there  education  and  learning  languish, «and  intellect- 
ual stagnation  prevails. 

(7)  Many  of  the  greatest  writers  and  thinkers  have 
borne  testimony  to  the  actual  influence  of  the  Bible 
in  the  promotion  of  learning.  Burke,  who  was  one 
of  the  greatest  thinkers  of  his  age,  says ;  ^  The  pro- 
gress of  Christianity  has  always  been  marked  by 
that  of  letters.'^  Cousin,  another  great  thinker, 
says;  ^Christianity  is  the  foundation  of  modern  civ- 
ilization.'^ Renan,  the  French  rationalist,  declares 
that  ^Christianity  completely  transformed  the  world 
in  three-hundred  years;'  and  that  it  Maid  the  foun- 
dation of  true  liberalism  and  true  civilization.'^ 
Many  similar  testimonies  might  be  presented. 

4.  We  will  mention  one  other  fact  in  illustration 
of  the  literary  excellence  of  the  Bible — the  marked 
inferiority  of  the  apocryphal  writings. 

Some  of  these  writings  were  doubtless  in  existence 
before  the  canon  of  Scripture  was  closed,  and  many 
of  them  not  long  afterward.  But  they  are  all  un- 
mistakably inferior  as  compositions.  In  what  are 
called  the  apocryphal  gospels  there  are  many  cliild- 
ish  things — such  as,  the  statement  that  the  water  in 
which  Jesus  had  been  washed,  sprinkled  on  a  child, 
would  enable  it  to  remain  in  a  burning  oven,  unhurt; 
that  Mary,  his  mother,  often  distributed  his  washing- 
water  as  miraculous  tincture,  and  pieces  of  his  clothes 
as  amulets  against  all  kinds  of  harm;  that  Judas  Is- 
cariot  when  a  boy,  being  a  demoniac,  snapped  at  and 

1  Works,  vol.  2,  p.  51G.     ^  His.  of  Mod.  Pliilos.  vol.  1,  p.  280. 
^  Origin  of  Chris. 


FACTS.  JG5 

struck  at  Jesus;  that  Satan  came  out  of  Judas  in  the 
shape  of  a  mad-dog;  and  that  Jesus  once  on  a  time 
changed  a  number  of  little  boys  into  goats,  and  after- 
ward restored  them  to  their  proper  shape. 

The  inferiority  of  the  apocryphal  writings  in  both 
matter  and  style  to  the  books  of  the  Bible,  is  too 
evident  to  admit  of  doubt  or  dispute.  Sceptics  have 
noticed  it,  and  admitted  the  force  of  the  argument 
which  it  furnishes  in  favor  of  plenary  inspiration. 
Even  Josephus,  the  contemporary  of  the  apostles, 
who  was  a  man  of  superior  ability,  possessing  much 
learning — more  probably  than  all  the  apostles  to- 
gether— is  far  beneath  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  also  of  the  Old,  in  richness  and  elevation 
of  thought,  and  simplicity  and  dignity  of  style. 
There  is  somethino-  which  lifts  the  writers  of  the 
Scriptures  above  all  their  contemporaries,  as  well  as 
above  all  preceding  and  all  subsequent  writers. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SUMMARY. 

The  sum  of  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding 
chapters  in  regard  to  the  literary  superiority  of  the 
Bible  is  as  follows: 

1.  The  Bible  has  stood  the  test  of  time.  It  origin- 
ated among  a  secluded  and  despised  people,  who  were 
not  remarkable  for  learning  and  refinement,  nor  for 
their  attainments  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  It  con- 
tains almost  every  species  of  composition,  and  treats 
of  almost  every  kind  of  subject.  It  has  been  read, 
studied,  examined,  and  criticized  for  eighteen  hun- 
dred years.  It  has  been  assaulted  as  no  other  book 
has  ever  been.  Science,  logic,  criticism,  ridicule, 
have  been  employed  against  it.  Learning,  wit,  and 
genius  at  times  have  been  arrayed  against  it.  Yet 
its  historical  character,  supernatural  origin,  and  di- 
vine authority  are  admitted  by  a  majority  of  learned 
and  scientific  men,  and  by  the  great  mass  of  enlight- 
ened people. 

2.  The  Bible  is  free  from  absurdity.  It  contains 
none  of  the  puerilities  and  vagaries  which  abound 
in  all  the  ancient  literatures.  It  avoids  all  Conjec- 
tures. It  relates  no  wild  stories.  It  sets  up  no  ex- 
travagant claims  to  antiquity.  It  gives  the  only 
account  of  the  creation,  and  of  the  origin  of  man- 

166 


EECAPITUL  ATION.  167 

kind,  which  an  intelligent  man  can  believe.  Even 
its  accounts  of  miracles  are  sober  and  dignified. 
Though  it  originated  among  a  people  who  delighted 
in  strange  stories,  wild  conjectures,  and  extravagant 
fictions;  and  whose  other  literature  abounds  in  puer- 
ilities, fables,  and  monstrous  lies;  it  is  throughout 
moderate,  reasonable,  and  truth-like.  In  these  re- 
spects the  Bible  is  in  striking  contrast  with  much  of 
modern  literature,  as  well  as  with  ancient  literature 
in  general. 

3.  The  Bible  is  consistent  with  science.  Scientific 
investigation  has,  like  a  consuming  flame,  burnt  up 
many  philosophies,  theories,  cosmogonies,  systems, 
and  literatures.  But  the  Bible  has  passed  the  fiery 
ordeal,  and  not  a  page  of  it  has  been  singed.  All 
ancient  literature,  and  much  of  modern,  abound 
with  contradictions  of  science.  Even  the  writings 
of  the  most  celebrated  and  ablest  ancient  authors — 
Plato,  Aristotle,  and  Cicero — contain  many  scientific 
errors.  The  Bible  is  the  only  collection  of  books 
free  from  such  errors.  In  it — multiform,  diverse, 
and  comprehensive  as  its  contents  are — no  error  has 
yet  been  pointed  out  to  destroy  the  belief  of  the 
great  majority  of  learned  men  and  intelligent  people 
in  its  scientific  accuracy  and  its  infallibility. 

4.  The  portions  of  the  Bible  seemingly  least  import- 
ant are  of  great  literary  value.  They  are  rich  in  his- 
toric information,  giving  us  an  account  of  the  civil 
laws,  sanitary  regulations,  religious  rites  and  cere- 
monies, of  a  very  ancient  and  remarkable  people. 
They  contain  moral  utterances  of  the  deepest  signifi- 
cance and  transcendent  beauty,  and  snatches  of  the 


168  LITERARY    EXCELLENCE. 

most  sublime  poetry.  For  historic  information, 
moral  beauty,  and  poetic  sublimity,  the  old  law- 
books of  the  Hebrews  are  an  exception  among  all 
the  law  books  of  the  world. 

5.  The  Bible  is  rich  in  beautiful  and  grand  literary 
subjects.  It  treats  not  of  absurd  cosmologies,  inde- 
cent theogonies,  and  debasing  loves  and  passions,  as 
do  the  ancient  poets  in  general.  All  its  subjects  are 
noble,  elevated,  grand.  The  matters  treated  of  in 
the  Vedas,  the  Iliad,  the  Eneid,  and  all  the  poems 
of  the  ancient  heathen,  in  comparison  with  the 
themes  treated  of  in  Genesis,  Job,  the  Psalms, 
Prophecies,  Gospels,  and  other  parts  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, are  trifling  and  mean.  Dante,  Milton,  Bun- 
yan,  and  many  other  masters  in  modern  literature, 
borrowed  from  it  the  subjects  and  general  concep- 
tions of  their  immortal  works.  The  poets  of  many 
lands  have  gone  to  it  for  subjects  of  epics,  tragedies, 
lyrics,  oratorios,  ballads,  and  almost  every  species  of 
composition. 

6.  l^ie  Bible  has  done  much  to  enrich  and  ennoble 
modern  literature.  Not  its  subjects  only,  but  its  con- 
ceptions, doctrines,  sentiments,  imagery,  and  forms 
of  expression,  have  been  incorporated  in  the  litera- 
ture of  every  one  of  the  great  nations  of  the  earth. 
Poets,  critics,  essayists,  orators,  and  literary  men  in 
general,  have  quoted  from  it,  referred  to  it,  imitated 
it,  and  borrowed  from  it,  almost  without  limit,  and 
generally  without  acknowledgment.  The  greatest 
authors  and  orators  have  received  their  literary  cul- 
ture from  it,  been  nourished  by  its  strength,  elevated 
by  its  lofty  spirit,  and  have  modeled  after  it  their 


RECAPITULATION.  169 

style  and  diction.  It  has  been  to  literary  men  a 
starry  firmament,  at  which  they  have  looked  and 
gazed  until  their  souls  were  lighted  up  with  beauty 
and  glory — a  field  of  fruits  and  flowers  among  which 
they  have  plucked  and  reveled.  It  has  been  an  un- 
failing source  of  useful  thoughts,  beautiful  ideas, 
grand  conceptions,  striking  figures,  and  simple, 
graceful  forms  of  expression. 

7.  The  unparalleled  excellence  of  the  Bible  as  a  lit- 
erary composition  is  almost  universally  admitted.  It 
has  been  admired  and  panegyrized  as  beautiful,  elo- 
quent, grand,  and  sublime,  and  as  more  so  than  any 
other  book,  by  the  most  eminent  literary  men — 
poets,  philosophers,  historians,  critics,  statesmen, 
jurists,  theologians,  scholars,  and  men  of  science — 
Romanists  as  well  as  Protestants,  sceptics  as  well  as 
Christians — Englishmen,  Americans,  Germans,  and 
Frenchmen.  No  book  has  been  so  generally  ad- 
mired and  panegyrized  by  the  gifted,  the  learned, 
and  great  of  all  professions,  all  classes,  and  all  be- 
liefs. 

8.  The  Bible  lyrics  are  the  finest  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  Christians  can  find  nothing  better  to  express 
their  devotional  feelings.  None  other  have  been 
adopted  into  general  and  permanent  use.  They  are 
translated,  versified,  imitated,  read,  studied,  chanted, 
and  sung,  wherever  Christianity  is  known.  The 
very  best  that  Christian  hymn-writers  can  do,  is,  to 
reproduce  them  in  the  modern  forms  of  metrical 
composition.  *The  seven-fold  chorus  of  hallelujahs 
and  harping  symphonies^  are  found  only  in  the 
songs  of  the  Hebrew  bards.     The   highest  literary 

15 


170  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

authority  has  declared  these  ancient  productions  un- 
equaled  for  their  elegance,  sweetness,  beauty,  and 
sublimity. 

9.  The  Bible  has  purified  and  enriched  the  fine  arts. 
It  ^reed  them  from  their  degrading  subjection  to 
false  religion  and  vile  morality.  It  has  suggested 
the  finest  subjects  and  highest  achievements  in  art. 

10.  Many  facts  illustrate  the  literary  excellence  of  the 
Bible,  It  is  more  successful  than  any  other  book; 
is  more  read,  studied,  admired,  loved,  quoted,  re- 
ferred to,  and  imitated;  and  exerts  a  more  power- 
ful and  wider  influence  than  any  other.  Though  it 
is  generally  read  in  translations,  it  is  to  every  nation 
like  a  book  written  in  their  own  mother  tongue;  to 
all  its  readers  it  is  an  exotic,  yet  is  at  home  in  every 
country  and  clime;  though  it  was  written  long-ago, 
in  languages  now  dead,  among  a  strange  and  seclu- 
ded people,  it  is  more  read,  studied,  revered,  loved, 
admired,  wept  over,  and  rejoiced  in  by  the  peoples  of 
earth,  than  any  of  the  productions  of  native  genius. 
It  was  one  of  the  greatest  promoters  of  knowledge 
and  intellectual  progress  during  the  first  centuries; 
it  strus^s^led  ao-ainst  the  io^norance  and  barbarism  of 
the  middle  age;  it  introduced  letters  and  learning 
into  Great  Britain;  it  was  the  cause  and  instrument 
of  the  Reformation,  and  the  revival  of -learning  in 
the  sixteenth  century;  it  originated  the  system  of 
free-schools;  it  established  nearly  all  our  colleges 
and  universities;  it  is  the  great  civilizer. 

11.  Yet  the  Jews,  whose  literature  consisted 
mainly  of  the  Scriptures,  were  not  a  cultivated  peo- 
ple.    Science,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word,  was 


RECAPITULATION.  171 

unknown  among  them.  They  had  no  philosophers, 
and  of  the  fine  arts  they  were  almost  entirely  ignor- 
ant. Their  only  poets  were  their  religious  teachers. 
Their  colleges  were  schools  of  the  prophets.  Of 
foreign  literature  they  knew  almost  nothing.  They 
inhabited  a  small  piece  of  territory  beyond  which 
their  thoughts  seldom  extended.  They  had  in  real- 
ity no  class  of  literary  men.  Their  writers  could 
not  have  been  much  superior  to  the  mass  of  the 
people  in  learning:  for  almost  their  whole  literature 
consisted  of  their  sacred  books,  which  all  the  people 
were  required  to  read  or  to  hear  read.  A  few  of 
their  writers — for  instance,  Moses  and  Daniel — 
were  J  indeed,  acquainted  with  foreign  courts  and 
literature;  but  even  they  wrote  as  if  they  had  no 
knowledge  of  books,  and  no  learning  but  such  as 
came  from  the  depths  of  their  own  souls.  The  Bib- 
lical literature — like  the  Hebrew  nation — is  origi- 
nal, diverse,  unique,  ignoring  and  contemning  the 
literature  and  science  of  the  world. 

12.  How,  then,  were  these  plain,  unlearned,  and 
unpolished  men — shepherds,  farmers,  tax-gatherers, 
and  fishermen — enabled  to  write  such  a  book  as  the 
Bible — beautiful,  eloquent,  sublime,  full  of  matter, 
graceful  in  language,  abounding  in  splendid  im- 
agery and  grand  conceptions?  How  came  it  to  pass 
that  the  secluded  and  uncultivated  Jewish  nation 
produced  so  many  writers  rivaling,  and  even  excel- 
ling, the  gifts  and  genius  of  Shakspeare,  the  tower- 
ing thoughts  of  Dante  and  Milton,  the  pathos, 
gracefulness,  and  beauty  of  Bunyan,  Cowper,  Gothe, 
Rousseau,  Racine,  and  all  the  poets  of  ancient  and 


172  LITERARY   EXCELLENCE. 

modern  times?  Whence  was  it  that  this  rude  na- 
tion, through  their  unlearned  writers,  have  given  to 
the  work!  a  book  which  has  enriched  and  ennobled 
modern  literature;  purified  and  elevated  the  fine 
arts;  advanced  education  and  science;  and  which  has 
been  imitated,  quoted,  referred  to,  and  appropriated 
almost  without  limit;  and  has  been  recognized  as 
the  standard  and  model  of  literary  excellence  by 
many  of  the  greatest  writers  and  speakers  of  modern 
times?  Whence  was  it  that  those  old  Hebrew  bards, 
prophets,  and  apostles — without  science,  without 
the  fine  arts,  without  philosophy,  without  literary 
models  except  such  as  they  themselves  created;  en- 
gaged in  a  continued  struggle  with  their  own  obsti- 
nate people,  who  were  ever  falling  into  polytheism 
and  immorality;  and  with  nothing  but  the  sun  and 
the  stars  and  the  natural  scenery  of  their  own  little 
country  to  teach  them  beauty  and  eloquence; — 
whence  was  it  that  such  men,  under  such  circum- 
stances, produced  a  book  the  fullest  of  matter,  the 
most  diverse  and  multiform  in  its  contents,  the  rich- 
est in  historic  information,  the  most  simple  and 
graceful  in  its  language  and  style,  the  most  charm- 
ing in  its  imagery;  the  most  eloquent  in  its  utter- 
ances, the  most  grand  and  sublime  in  its  thoughts 
and  conceptions  of  all  the  books  that  have  been 
produced  in  ancient  or  modern  times;  the  only  book 
which  is  for  all  generations  and  for  all  time,  and 
which  is  at  home  in  every  language,  in  every 
country,  and  in  every  clime?  How  could  such  men, 
under  such  circumstances,  produce  the  most  simple, 
the  most  beautiful,  the  most  eloquent,  the  most  sug- 


RECAPITULATION.  173 

gestive,  the  most  powerful,  the  most  wonderful,  the 
most  sublime  book  in  the  world;  and  thus  surpass 
in  literary  excellence  and  success  all  the  genius, 
learning,  philosophy,  and  art  of  ancient  and  modern 
times? 

We  answer,  that  the  Bible  is  a  supernatural 
production.  Infidelity  may  stammer  out  such  an- 
swers as  it  can;  or,  like  Rousseau  when  overcome  by 
the  purity,  sweetness,  and  eloquence  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, decline  to  answer  at  all,  and  'observe  a  re- 
spectful silence/ 

15* 


PART  II. 

THE  THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE 
OF  THE  BIBLE, 


I>^IIT  II. 

THE  THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMINARY    CONSIDERATIONS. 

In  the  preceding  part  of  this  work,  we  have  en- 
deavored to  prove  and  illustrate  the  literary  superi- 
ority of  the  Scriptures.  We  have  taken  up  more 
time  and  space  with  that  part  of  the  subject,  for  the 
reason  that  their  literary  superiority  is  not  univer- 
sally recognized.  The  unequalled  excellence  of  the 
Biblical  theology,  we  believe,  is  universally  recog- 
nized, and  hence  we  shall  be  more  brief  on  this  part 
of  our  subject. 

The  superior  excellence  of  the  Biblical  theology 
being,  as  we  have  said,  universally  admitted,  it  is 
not  necessary  that  we  should  prove  it.  We  need 
only  state  and  illustrate  it,  so  that  due  importance 
may  be  attached  to  it  in  estimating  the  general  ex- 
cellence of  the  Scriptures.  The  fact,  however,  that 
their  theological  excellence  is  universaUy  admitted  is 
perhaps  one  reason  why  this  excellence  has  not  had 
its  proper  influence  in  the  controversy  concerning 
inspiration.  We  do  not  properly  appreciate  the  un- 
interrupted blessings  of  heaven,  just  because  we  have 

177 


178  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

always  been  accustomed  to  them.  We  are  inclined 
to  regard  the  regular  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun, 
the  return  of  the  seasons,  and  the  refreshing  showers, 
as  matters  of  course,  for  which  we  need  not  be  thank- 
ful. The  Israelites  born  in  the  desert  doubtless  re- 
garded the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of 
fire  by  night,  and  the  perennial  stream  which  gushed 
from  the  rock  when  smitten  by  Moses,  as  common 
things,  like  the  rain  and  the  dew  of  heaven.  So 
too  the  widow,  whose  barrel  of  meal  did  not  waste 
and  cruse  of  oil  did  not  fail  through  the  blessing  of 
the  prophet,  may  have  ceased  to  admire  and  be 
thankful,  just  because  the  meal  did  not  waste  and 
the  oil  did  not  fail.  Though  it  is  true  only  in  a 
limited  sense  that  familiarity  breeds  contempt,  yet 
there  are  many  facts  which  we  disregard  just  be- 
cause we  have  been  accustomed  to  them  from  child- 
hood. There  are  truths  which  have  little  or  no 
influence  over  us,  for  the  reason  that  they  are  so 
true  that  no  one  calls  them  in  question.  So  it  is 
with  the  theological  excellence  of  the  Scriptures. 
No  one  disputes  it.  Even  infidels  admit  it.  Hence 
it  is  regarded  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  as  of  little 
importance  in  estimating  the  general  excellence  of 
the  Bible,  and  determining  the  question  in  regard  to 
its  origin. 

Our  object,  then,  in  this  second  part  of  our  work, 
is  not  so  much  to  prove^  as  to  illustrate  by  actual 
comj)arison  the  superiority  of  the  theology  of  the 
Scriptures  over  all  other  theological  systems  that 
are  known  to  have  prevailed  among  men.  In 
making  this  comparison,  it  is  not  necessary  that  we 


PRELIMINARY   CONSIDERATIONS.  179 

should  examine  every  theology  that  has  appeared 
among  men.  It  is  necessary  to  examine  only  those 
that  have  prevailed  among  the  most  civilized  and  re- 
fined nations.  For  if  the  Bible  theology  is  superior 
to  the  Egyptian,  Hindu,  Buddhist,  Persian,  Chi- 
nese, Grecian,  Roman,  and  Arabic  theologies,  we 
may  safely  infer  that  it  is  superior  to  all  the  theolo- 
gies that  may  have  prevailed  among  obscure  nations 
and  savage  tribes. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EGYPTIAN  THEOLOGY. 

The  Egyptians,  the  most  ancient  nation  of  whom 
we  have  any  definite  knowledge,  were  very  super- 
stitious. Their  superstition  was  notorious  even  in 
the  time  of  Herodotus,  who  says  that  ^of  all  men 
they  were  the  most  excessive  in  their  veneration  for 
the  gods/^  As  far  back  as  we  have  any  account  of 
them,  they  had  lost  all  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  unity  of  God.  The  ancient  historian  just  re- 
ferred to  says,  that  originally  there  were  eight 
Egyptian  gods,  and  that  twelve  additional  gods 
were  produced  from  them,  seventeen  thousand  years 
before  the  reign  of  Amasis.^  Besides  these  two  class- 
es of  deities,  there  was  a  third,  inferior  in  grade,  and 
of  an  indefinite  number.  An  enumeration  of  all  the 
gods  whom  the  ancient  Egyptians  worshipped  would 
fill  many  pages.  They  worshipped  not  only  a  mul- 
titude of  imaginary  beings,  of  several  grades  and  of 
different  sexes,  but  also  the  heavenly  bodies,  the 
natural  elements,  beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  vegetables, 
and  stones.  They  represented  their  chief  deities 
under  various  forms  and  symbols.  They  repre- 
sented Amuu,  supposed  to  be  their  chief  deity — 
corresponding   to   the   Jupiter  of  the   Greeks  and 

^B.  2:  37.        'B.  2:  32. 
180 


EGYPTIAN   THEOLOGY.  181 

Romans— with  a  body  of  a  deep  blue  color,  a  ram's 
head,  and  a  red  cap  from  which  proceeded  two  tall 
straight  feathers.  Khem,  another  of  their  deities, 
appears  as  a  hawk  with  human  legs,  a  flail,  and 
feathers  like  Amun.  Sevek  had  the  head  of  a  croc- 
odile; Thoth,  the  head  of  an  ibis;  and  Amun-Kor, 
the  head  of  a  hawk.  One  of  their  deities  was  rep- 
resented with  the  countenance  of  a  she-goat  and 
the  legs  of  the  male;  another  with  the  ears  of  an 
ass  or  giraffe.  Typhon  was  represented  as  an  ass, 
bear,  hippopotamus,  and  crocodile.  Athor,  a  female 
deity,  was  represented  sometimes  as  a  spotted  cow, 
and  sometimes  with  a  human  face  and  a  cow's  ears. 
Several  deities  appear  combined  in  one  person,  and 
others  are  represented  as  being  both  male  and  fe- 
male. Thus  the  goddess  Neith  is  represented  as 
uniting  both  sexes  in  herself,  and,  though  maintain- 
ing perpetual  virginity,  as  having  given  birth  to  the 
sun.  One  of  her  titles  is,  the  great  cow,  engenderer 
of  the  sun. 

Natural  objects  were  deified  by  the  ancient  Egypt- 
ians. The  sun  was  worshipped  as  Ra;  the  moon 
sometimes  as  a  male  deity  connected  with  Thoth, 
and  sometimes  as  a  female  with  Isis.  The  starry 
heaven  was  worshipped  under  a  female  figure.  Di- 
vine honors  were  paid  to  the  river  Nile.  Osiris, 
who  perhaps  originally  was  understood  to  represent 
the  prolific  power  of  nature,  was  identified  some- 
times with  the  sun,  sometimes  with  the  earth,  and 
sometimes  with  the  river  Nile.  To  Isis,  his  con- 
sort, also  were  assigned  various  characters  and  func- 
tions. 

16 


182  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

Animal-worship  also  prevailed  among  the  Egyp- 
tians. They  paid  divine  honors  to  cows,  crocodiles, 
cats,  dogs,  goats,  hawks,  vultures,  larks,  beetles;  to 
nearly  all  kinds  of  beasts,  birds,  reptiles  and  insects. 
Crocodiles,  cats,  goats,  serpents,  and  various  other 
animals  were  maintained  in  the  Egyptian  temples 
in  magnificent  style  and  at  great  expense.  They 
were  bathed,  anointed,  and  perfumed;  and  at  night 
lay  on  soft  cushions.  They  were  fed  on  the  choicest  ^ 
food.  Cakes  of  fine  flour  sweetened  with  honey, 
and  flesh  of  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes,  roasted,  boiled, 
or  uncooked,  to  suit  the  palates  of  all,  were  prepared 
for  them.  They  were  adorned  with  ornaments  of 
gold  and  costly  gems.  They  had  attendants  and 
nurses  whose  office  was  hereditary,  and  who  in 
public  wore  insignia  that  they  might  be  recognized, 
and  were  regarded  with  great  reverence.  Incense 
was  burnt  before  these  beast-gods.  Vows  were  per- 
formed in  their  presence.  Parents  consecrated  their 
children  to  them.  They  cut  ofp  their  children's 
hair,  weighed  it,  and  gave  the  weight  of  it  in  sih^er 
to  procure  delicacies  for  their  bleating  and  cackling 
gods.  When  any  of  the  sacred  animals  died,  they 
were  embalmed  and  deposited  in  a  consecrated  place. 
Every  family  had  a  holy  beast,  and  when  it  died, 
the  household  mourned  as  for  a  beloved  child. 
When  a  cat  died,  every  member  of  the  family  cut 
off  the  hair  of  his  eye-brows  in  sign  of  mourning. 
When  a  dog  died,  they  shaved  their  heads  and  their 
whole  bodies.  To  kill  any  of  the  sacred  animals 
was  a  capital  offense.  To  do  so  involuntarily  sub- 
jected the  transgressor  to  a  fine  determined  by  the 


EGYPTIAN    THEOLOGY.  183 

priests.  To  kill  an  ibis  or  a  hawk,  even  involun- 
tarily, was  punished  with  inevitable  death.  The 
destruction  of  any  of  the  sacred  animals  by  native 
Egyptians  was  almost  an  incredible  crime.  When 
they  accidentally  found  one  of  these  animals  lying 
dead,  they  stood  aloof  and  with  lamentations  and 
protestations  declared  that  they  had  not  killed  it. 
Even  in  times  of  famine,  the  Egyptians,  though 
driven  to  eat  human  flesh,  refused  to  use  any  of  the 
sacred  animals  for  food. 

The  degradation  of  the  theological  ideas  of  the 
Egyptians  is  most  clearly  seen  in  their  veneration 
and  worship  of  their  holy  bull,  the  beast-god  Apis. 
This  animal  is  described  by  Herodotus^  as  the  c  If 
of  a  cow  that  could  have  no  other  offspring,  and 
conceived  Apis  from  being  struck  by  lightning. 
His  color  was  black,  but  he  had  a  white  spot  in  the 
form  of  a  triangle  on  his  forehead,  the  figure  of  an 
eagle  on  his  back,  and  of  a  beetle  under  his  tongue. 
The  hair  on  his  tail  was  double.  But  on  some  of 
these  points  the  accounts  of  ancient  authors  are  con- 
tradictory. Of  course,  some  of  the  marks  just  men- 
tioned were  merely  feigned,  or  were  produced  by 
artifice.  Apis  was  allowed  to  live  just  twenty-five 
years;  and  whether  he  died  a  natural  death,  or  was 
killed  by  the  priests  at  the  expiration  of  his  allotted 
term,  a  public  lamentation  was  performed,  which 
lasted  until  another  Apis  was  found,  and  was  then 
succeeded  by  great  and  enthusiastic  rejoicings.  As 
soon  as  a  suitable  calf  was  found,  he  was  placed  in 

^B.  3:  28. 


184     "  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

a  house  facing  the  east,  where  he  was  nourished  on 
milk  four  months.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time, 
he  was  conveyed  at  the  new  moon,  in  a  gilded  pal- 
ace placed  on  a  boat,  to  Memphis,  and  was  lodged 
in  splendid  apartments,  with  pleasure  grounds  and 
ample  space  for  exercise.  He  drank  clear  water 
from  a  well  or  fountain,  but  was  not  allowed  to 
drink  of  the  Nile  water  lest  it  should  make  him  too 
fat.  The  most  beautiful  female  companions  of  his 
own  species  were  provided  for  him.  The  man  in 
whose  herd  this  divine  calf  was  found  was  regarded 
with  universal  admiration. 

The  Egyptians  really  worshipped  this  Apis  bull 
as  a  god,  as  is  asserted  by  Cicero^  and  other  ancient 
writers.  They  celebrated  in  his  honor  a  festival 
which  lasted  seven  days.  On  this  occasion  great 
multitudes  assembled  at  Memphis.  The  animal 
was  led  in  solemn  procession  by  the  priests,  a  cho- 
rus of  children  going  before  him  and  singing  hymns 
in  his  praise,  and  the  people  coming  forward  and 
welcoming  him  as  he  passed.  He  was  consulted  as 
an  oracle,  and  various  modes  of  divination  through 
him  were  employed.  Boys  who  played  around  his 
stable  or  palace  were  supposed  to  be  inspired  with  a 
divine  impulse,  which  enabled  them  to  utter  predic- 
tions in  perfect  rhythm.  Children  who  walked  be- 
fore him  in  the  public  processions  were  supposed  to 
acquire  the  gift  of  prophecy  from  his  breath.  His 
receiving  food  readily,  was  considered  a  good  omen; 
his  refusal  to  cat  was  considered  a  bad  omen.  Some- 
1  De  Xat.  Dcor.  1 :  29. 


EGYPTIAN   THEOLOGY.  185 

times  those  who  wished  to  consult  him,  after  bupning 
incense,  put  their  mouths  to  his  ear  and  asked  him 
whatever  question  they  wished,  and  then  stopping 
their  ears,  withdrew  from  the  sacred  enclosure. 
Whatever  expression  they  heard,  after  withdrawing 
from  the  presence  of  the  animal  and  unstopping 
their  ears,  was  taken  as  an  answer  to  the  question 
which  had  been  whispered  in  his  ear. 

When  this  horned  and   hairy  god   died,  he  was 
honored  with  a  masrnificent  funeral.     It  is  recorded 

o 

that  a  sum  equal  to  a  million  of  dollars  was  some- 
times spent  in  celebrating  the  obsequies  of  one  of 
these  dead  bullocks. 

Since  Apis  was  regarded  with  so  much  veneration, 
his  every  motion  would  be  regarded  as  of  momentous 
importance,  and  watched  with  the  utmost  care.  The 
lying  down  and  rising  up  of  the  senseless  brute,  his 
sleeping  and  waking,  his  eating  and  refusing  to  eat, 
the  tossing  of  his  head  and  the  shaking  of  his  tail,  his 
grunting  and  bellowing,  and  all  his  movements  and 
motions,  would  be  observed  and  noted  with  greater 
vigilance  and  awe,  and  his  appetites  and  desires 
more  promptly  and  completely  gratified,  than  those 
of  the  most  powerful  monarch.  The  production  of 
offspring,  and  the  production  even  of  half-human 
offspring,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible,  from  this 
and  other  sacred  animals,  would  of  course  be  sought 
after  as  a  momentous  matter  and  a  religious  duty. 
Just  here  is  suggested  the  essential  bestiality  of  the 
Egyptian  theology.  Decency,  however,  forbids  a 
full  declaration.  But  we  may  refer  to  the  state- 
ments of  Herodotus,  who,  speaking  of  the  offering 
16* 


186  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

of  swine  by  the  Egyptians  in  sacrifice  at  particular 
seasons,  says,  that  they  gave  a  reason  for  it  which  it 
would  be  indecent  to  mention;^  and  who,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  representation  of  Pan  as  having  the  face 
of  a  she-goat  and  the  legs  of  the  male,  says,  that  the 
Egyptians  have  a  reason  for  it  which  it  would  not 
be  proper  to  state,  but  a  little  further  on  does  make 
a  statement  which  indicates  the  abominable  charac- 
ter of  the  Egyptian  theology  and  worship.^  There 
is  enough  known  concerning  the  debasing  effects  of 
animal  worship  among  the  Egyptians  to  account  for 
the  stringent  laws  enacted  by  Moses  against  bestial 
impurity  among  the  Israelites  after  their  long  resi- 
dence in  the  land  of  Apis.^ 

It  is  not  our  business  to  show  how  the  polytheism, 
pantheism,  and  animal  worship  among  the  ancient 
Egyptians  originated.  If  the  Bible  be  true,  and  the 
suggestions  of  secular  history  are  to  be  accepted,  all 
mankind  originally  worshii^ped  the  one  true  God. 
Doubtless  the  Egyptians  beyond  the  historic  period 
were  monotheists.  Probably  their  first  error  was 
the  worship  of  the  earth,  sun,  moon,  and  the  natu- 
ral powers  and  elements,  as  the  symbols  of  the  attri- 
butes of  the  Godhead.  Next  they  may  have  glided 
into  the  belief  that  these  symbols  themselves  pos- 
sessed divinity,  and  may  have  come  to  regard  them 
as  divine  beings  and  as  gods.  Then  symbols  would 
be  selected  also  for  them.  The  ox,  with  his  patient 
labor,  would  represent  the  fruit-bearing  earth ;  the 
hawk,  with  its  bright  eyes,  the  sun;    the  crocodile, 

12:  46.        2  2:  47.        ^  Lev.  xviii.  23.  xx.  15.  16. 


EGYPTIAN  THEOLOGY.  187 

the  river  Nile;  and  combinations  of  the  forms  of 
difi'erent  parts  of  animals,  as  the  head  of  an  ibis  or 
a  ram  on  the  human  body,  or  the  human  trunk  with 
the  face  and  legs  of  a  goat,  or  the  human  form  and 
face  with  the  ears  of  an  ass  or  cow,  would  be  chosen 
to  represent  the  properties  and  functions  of  the 
gods — which  the  earth,  heavenly  bodies,  seas,  rivers, 
winds,  and  all  the  powers  of  nature,  were  now  sup- 
posed to  be.  These  symbols  would  in  turn  be  dei- 
fied, and  thus  the  process  would  go  on  and  on,  until 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  was  lost,  and  until 
all  the  natural  powers,  elements,  and  objects,  beasts, 
birds,  reptiles,  and  insects  were*worshipped  as  gods, 
or  as  the  vehicles  of  gods.  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  ex- 
presses the  opinion  that  the  Egyptian  religion  was 
pantheistic  rather  than  polytheistic,  and  seems  to 
think  that  its  errors  and  abuses  resulted  mainly 
from  the  pantheistic  principle  and  tendency.^  Ken- 
rick  says  that  the  Egyptian  system  of  theology  did 
not  originate  in  any  one  principle,  and  that  it  con- 
tains traces  of  at  least  three;  the  worship  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  the  personification  of  the  powers 
supposed  to  be  engaged  in  creation  and  nature,  and 
the  assignment  of  personal  symbols  to  abstract  qual- 
ities.^ But  whatever  may  have  been  the  source  of 
the  theological  errors  of  the  Egyptians,  it  is  certain 
that  they  were  both  polytheists  and  pantheists;  the 
worshippers  of  imaginary  beings,  the  heavenly  bod- 
ies, natural  elements  and  objects,  and  also  of  animals. 
Since  such  was  the  theology  or  rather  the  super- 
*  An.  Egyptians,  vol.  1,  p.  328.  ^  An.  Egypt,  vol.  1,  p.  309. 


188  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

stition  of  the  Egyptians,  their  worship  was  of  course 
formal,  impure,  and  beastly.  Prayers,  processions, 
the  singing  of  hymns,  the  offering  of  incense  and 
bloody  sacrifices,  fightings,  scourgings,  exposures  of 
the  naked  body,  revelings,  and  obscenities,  constitu- 
ted the  main  part  of  the  ceremonies  and  services 
which  they  performed  in  honor  of  their  imaginary, 
material,  and  animal  gods.  It  also  appears,  that  in 
very  early  times  they  offered  human  sacrifices.  This 
is  denied  by  Herodotus.^  His  testimony,  however, 
is  of  the  negative  kind.  He  is  followed  by  Wilkin- 
son.^ Kenrick,  however,  shows  that  human  sacri- 
fices were  offered  by  the  Egyptians  until  the  time  of 
Amasis;  who  abolished  the  custom,  and  substituted 
an  image  of  wax  instead  of  the  human  victim.^  It  is 
to  the  credit  of  their  humanity,  that  notwithstanding 
the  debasing  influence  of  an  abominable  theology, 
they  yielded  to  the  decree  of  their  king  abolishing 
the  monstrous  custom. 

We  conclude  our  necessarily  brief  and  imperfect 
review  of  Egyptian  theology  with  a  general  sum- 
mary. 

1.  Though  the  Egyptians  appear  to  have  lost  all 
knowledge  of  the  Divine  unity,  there  yet  remained 
in  their  theological  system — contradictory  and  mon- 
strous as  it  became — traces  of  a  belief  at  a  very  early 
period  in  that  fundamental  doctrine.  The  blending 
of  the  attributes  and  functions  of  their  gods,  and  the 
frequent  identification  of  one  god  with  another,  in- 
dicate that  originally  they  were  but  names  or  sym- 
1 2 :  45.      2  vol.  1.  p.  411.      ^  ^ol.  1.  pp.  368-370. 


EGYPTIAN   THEOLOGY.  189 

bols  of  the  one  God.  The  fact  that  among  the  vast 
number  of  local  gods,  there  was  one,  the  mysterious 
Ra  or  Phra  (Pharaoh),  the  sun,  who  was  attended 
by  no  goddess,  had  no  mother,  and  yet  was  born  of 
the  virgin  Neith,  and  who  was  universally  recog- 
nized as  king  and  father,  also  points  to  an  early  be- 
lief in  the  doctrine  of  one  Supreme  Being. 

2.  Among  the  numerous  superstitions  which  ob- 
scured and  destroyed  this  belief,  was  that  of  panthe- 
ism. The  Egyptians  conceived  divinity  in  almost 
every  thing — in  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  natural 
elements,  the  earth,  animals,  insects,  vegetables, 
stones,  in  the  whole  visible  and  invisible  creation. 
It  was  this  prevalent  pantheism  that  Juvenal  satir- 
ized, when  he  said,  that  among  the  Egyptians  it  was 
an  impious  act  to  eat  a  leek  or  an  onion;  and  that 
their  gods  grew  for  them  in  their  gardens.^ 

3.  The  Egyptian  theology  was  polytheistic.  It 
obscured  and  jQnally  discarded  the  doctrine  of  the 
Divine  unity.  It  recognized  eight  deities  of  the 
first  order,  twelve  of  the  second,  and  an  enormous 
multitude  of  the  third, — to  say  nothing  of  the  natu- 
ral objects,  beasts,  birds,  serpents,  and  insects  that 
were  deified  and  worshipped.  Nowhere  was  the 
doctrine  of  the  oneness  of  the  Godhead  more  deeply 
buried  beneath  hideous  superstitions  than  among 
the  ancient  Egyptians. 

4.  Their  religion  was  further  corrupted  by  ma- 
terialism. They  conceived  of  their  gods  as  corporeal 
beings  of  different  sexes,  and  as  marrying  and  be- 

» Sat.  15. 


190  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

getting  children.  They  almost  invariably  repre- 
sented their  gods  in  triple  groups — a  god,  a  female 
god  (of  whom  the  first  is  both  son  and  husband), 
and  a  third,  the  offspring  of  the  other  two.  In 
whatever  way  w^e  interpret  this  triad — Avhether  we 
view  it  as  the  obscure  and  corrupt  remains  of  a 
primitive  belief  in  the  Bible  doctrine  of  the  Trinity; 
or  as  designed  to  represent  the  union  of  the  active 
and  passive  principles  in  creation,  and  the  product 
thence  arising;  or  as  symbols  of  the  self- existent, 
hidden  god;  the  god  creating  himself  a  body  and 
thus  becoming  revealed;  and  the  god  as  conceived  in 
the  minds  of  worshippers;  the  god  as  self-existing, 
objective,  and  subjective — whatever  this  triad  in 
Egyptian  theology  may  have  been  originally  de- 
signed to  represent,  it  indicates  that  the  divine  na- 
ture was  conceived  and  represented  as  a  material 
substance. 

5.  Beast-worship  was  universally  prevalent.  We 
have  illustrated  the  abominable  character  and  de- 
basing effects  of  this  superstition  by  giving  an  ac- 
count of  Apis  and  his  worship.  But  many  other 
animals  were  worshipped  as  gods — crocodiles,  ser- 
pents, fishes,  cats,  dogs,  goats,  vultures,  larks,  nearly 
all  kinds  of  beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  and  even  insects. 

6.  The  Egyptian  worship  consisted  in  merely  for- 
mal services,  and  in  indecencies  and  obscenities.* 

*In  our  account  of  Egyptian  theology,  we  have  mainly  fol- 
lowed Ilerodotug,  Kenrick,  and  Wilkinson.     * 


CHAPTER  III. 

HINDU  THEOLOGY. 

The  ancient  Hindus  were  pantheists,  polytheists, 
and  idolaters.  They,  indeed,  believed  in  a  Supreme 
Being.  The  holiest  verse  of  the  Yedas  is  as  follows; 
^Let  us  adore  the  supremacy  of  that  divine  sun  (op- 
posed to  the  visible  luminary),  the  Godhead  who 
illuminates  all,  who  re-creates  all,  from  whom  all 
proceed,  to  whom  all  must  return.'^  In  the  Laws 
of  Menu,  God  is  described  as  'He,  whom  the  mind 
alone  can  "perceive,  whose  essence  eludes  the  external 
organs,  who  has  no  visible  parts,  who  exists  from 
eternity,  who  is  the  soul  of  all  beings,  and  whom  no 
being  can  comprehend.'^  But  though  the  writings 
of  the  ancient  Hindus  ascribe  eternity,  spirituality, 
and  many  other  divine  attributes  to  the  Supreme 
Being,  their  ideas  concerning  him  were  obscured  and 
deformed  by  many  absurd  and  monstrous  errors. 
We  have  already  referred  to  their  absurd  cosmog- 
ony.^ But  their  cosmogony  and  theology  are  inti- 
mately connected,  and  the  absurdity  of  the  one  is 
but  the  counterpart  of  the  falseness  of  the  other. 

1.  Brahm  is  represented  as  the  creator.  During 
a  period  of  time  inconceivable  in  length,  he  was  in  a 

^Jones'  works,  vol.  13,  p.  367.        ^Jones'  trans,  cli.  1:  7. 
3  Part  1,  ch.  2. 

191 


192  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

state  of  inactivity  or  sleep.  By  his  thought  he  first 
created  the  waters  from  his  own  substance,  and 
placed  in  them  an  egg.  In  that  egg  Bralim  was 
himself  born  in  the  form  of  Brahma,  the  forefather 
of  all  spirits.^  Brahma,  who  is  thus  represented  as 
proceeding  from  Brahm,  as  we  shall  presently  see  is 
the  universe.  Thus  the  First  Cause  or  Power  from 
which  all  things  proceed,  is  represented  as  destitute 
of  character  and  attributes.  After  the  creation  of 
Brahma,  or  after  he  was  hatched  in  his  own  egg  as 
Brahma,  Brahm  relapsed  into  a  state  of  inactivity 
or  sleep.  Such  a  being  is  not  the  object  either  of 
love,  reverence,  or  fear.  He  has  no  temple,  and  is 
never  worshipped.  The  sleeping  god  is  an  object  of 
indifference.  Thus  the  very  first  principle,  the  start- 
ing point  of  Hindu  theology,  is  fatally  erroneous. 
Its  inventors  did  not  understand  the  fundamental 
truth,  that  the  Creator  of  all  things  is  a  living, 
active,  powerful,  wise,  and  good  Being. 

2.  The  Hindu  theology  is  pantheistic.  Brahma, 
hatched  from  the  egg  of  Brahm,  is  everything.  The 
universe  is  but  the  expansion  or  development  of 
the  principles  and  qualities  that  were  wrapt  up  in 
Brahm,  and  were  educed  from  him.  The  universe 
is  represented  as  his  manifested  form,  and  as  Brahma 
it  is  described  as  a  human  body  of  prodigious  mag- 
nitude. This  pantheistic  idea  is  set  forth  in  Menu; 
where  it  is  declared  that  all  nature,  visible  and  in- 
visible, the  boundless  universe,  the  whole  assem- 
blage of  gods  and  all  worlds,  are  seated  in  the 
iMenii,  cb.  1:  9-32. 


HINDU   THEOLOGY.  193 

Divine  Spirit,  and.  that  the  Divine  Spirit  pervades 
all  beings  in  five  elemental  forms,  and,  as  the  su- 
preme soul^  is  present  in  all  creatures.^  Thus  in 
this  ancient  theology  Brahma  is  in  every  thing  and 
every  thing  is  in  Brahma;  Brahma  is  the  universe 
and  the  universe  is  Brahma. 

3.  The  Hindu  theology  also  involved  the  materi- 
ality of  the  Godhead.  It  represented  the  supreme 
god  as  being  hatched  out  of  Brahm  as  a  chicken 
is  hatched  from  the  ^gg,  as  having  a  corporeal 
form,  and  the  different  parts  of  the  material  uni- 
verse as  the  members  of  his  huge  body.  To  all 
the  gods  material  forms  are  ascribed.  They  are 
represented  as  male  and  female,  as  having  sexual 
passions,  as  marrying,  cohabiting,  and  begetting 
children.  While  the  supreme  god  and  all  the  gods 
were  regarded  as  having  spiritual  natures,  they  were 
at  the  same  time  conceived  of  and  represented  as 
material  substances.  The  Hindus  both  deified  ma- 
terial things  and  materialized  the  Divine  Spirit.  In 
their  pantheistic  conceptions,  they  confounded  the 
Creator  with  the  works  of  his  hands. 

4.  This  ancient  theology  was  polytheistic.  Brah- 
ma, the  w^orld-god,  comprehended  many  gods  within 
himself.  The  Hindu  pantheon  contained  a  vast 
crowd  of  deities,  male  and  female,  superior  and  in- 
ferior, celestial  and  terrestrial.  The  number  of  the 
Hindu  gods  has  been  estimated  at  three-hundred- 
and  thirty  millions.  The  Hindus  were  taught  not 
only  that  there  are  many  gods,  but  that  they  are  all 

^Menu,  ch.  12:  118-125. 

17 


194  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

to  be  worshipped.  The  Brahmin  was  enjoined  to 
offer  an  oblation  of  clarified  butter  every  day  to  the 
following  divinities;  first  to  Agni,  the  god  of  fire, 
and  to  the  lunar  god;  next  to  the  gods  collectively; 
afterwjird  to  Dhanwantari,  the  god  of  medicine; 
Cuhu,  goddess  of  the  day,  after  the  new  moon; 
Anumati,  goddess  of  the  day  after  the  opposition; 
Prajapati,  the  lord  of  creatures;  Dyava  and  Prith- 
ivi,  goddesses  of  the  sky  and  earth;  to  Indra,  Yama, 
Voruna,  and  Soma;  to  the  Maruts  (winds),  water- 
gods,  and  gods  of  large  trees;  to  Sri,  the  goddess  of 
abundance;  Bhadracalli,  the  propitious  goddess;  to 
Brahma,  his  household  god;  and  to  all  the  gods  as- 
sembled; to  the  Spirits  of  the  day  and  the  Spirits»of 
the  night.  After  sacrificing  to  all  these  gods  and 
goddesses,  the  Brahmin  was  directed,  to  present 
whatever  clarified  butter  remained  as  an  offering  to 
the  Pitris,  human  progenitors.^ 

5.  As  the  result  of  the  pantheistic,  materialistic, 
and  polytheistic  elements  in  their  theology,  the  Hin- 
dus were  led  into  many  absurd  opinions  and  jyracti- 
ces.  Since  they  were  taught  that  the  universe  is 
God,  that  He  is  in  everything  and  everything  in 
Him,  they  regard  everything  as  possessing  divinity. 
They  had  a  superstitious  regard  for  beasts,  insects, 
plants,  stones,  and  all  material  substances.  This 
superstitious  regard,  doubtless,  in  part  resulted  from 
their  belief  in  metempsychosis.  They  were  taught 
that  the  souls  of  men  after  death  inhabit  the  bodies 
of  other  beings;  that  for  certain  sins  men  after  death 

^Menu,  ch.  1:  84-91. 


HINDU  THEOLOGY.  195 

assume  a  vegetable  or  mineral  form ;  for  others  the 
forms  of  beasts  or  birds;  for  others  the  lowest  of 
human  conditions;  that  souls  endued  with  goodness 
attain  to  the  state  of  deities,  and  that  bad  souls  pass 
jnto  horses,  cows,  dogs,  bears,  snakes,  insects,  vege- 
table and  mineral  substances.  Plence,  as  the  souls 
of  men  were  regarded  as  sparks  of  Brahma,  pieces 
of  Deity,  all  animate  and  inanimate  things  were 
regarded  as  the  vessels  or  vehicles  of  divinity. 
Plants,  animals,  and  minerals,  were  alike  con- 
sidered as  having  internal  conscience,  and  as  being 
sensible  of  pleasure  and  pain.^  The  man  who 
sought  after  beatitude  was  enjoined  to  drink  water 
strained  through  a  cloth,  lest  he  might  hurt  some 
insect.^  Agriculture  was  condemned,  as  involving 
cruelty  by  *  wounding  the  earth  and  the  creatures 
dwelling  on  it/^  Slaying  a  cow,  working  in  mines 
or  dykes,  and  cutting  grgen  trees,  were  classed  along 
with  adultery,  incest,  selling  a  wife  or  child,  and 
other  transgressions;  as  crimes  of  the  third  degree, 
higher  or  lower  according  to  circumstances.^  The 
higher  classes  of  society,  by  the  possession  of  a 
larger  quantity  of  divinity,  were  considered  as  hav- 
ing a  right  to  despise  and  oppress  the  lower.  Brah- 
mins were  declared  to  be  transcendently  divine — 
their  very  birth  to  be  a  constant  incarnation  of 
Dherma,  the  god  of  justice.^  A  king  was  declared 
to  be  composed  of  particles  drawn  from  the  four 
guardian  deities  of  the  w^orld,  and  to  be  a  powerful 
divinity  in  human  shape.^     The  Brahmin  was  for- 

^Menu,  ch.  1:  49.    ^Q:  46.      nO:  84.    *7:  59-G7. 
^Menu,  1:  31;  7:  318.    ^7:  5-8. 


196  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLEJJCE. 

bidden  to  marry  a  Sudra  (one  of  the  lowest  class)  on 
pain  of  everlasting  perdition.  He  was  also  forbid- 
den to  marry  into  a  family  in  which  no  males  had 
been  produced,  in  which  the  Veda  had  not  been 
read,  or  which  had  thick  hair,  phthisis,  dispepsy,  or. 
elephantiasis.  He  was  further  forbidden  to  marry 
a  girl  with  inflamed  eyes,  or  one  with  reddish  hair, 
too  much  hair,  or  no  hair  at  all.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  was  required  to  marry  a  girl  without  de- 
fect of  form,  with  an  agreeable  name,  and  who 
walked  gracefully  like  a  phenicopteros  or  a  young 
elephant.^ 

The  man  who  killed  a  cow,  even  without  malice, 
was  subjected  to  ridiculous  and  disgusting  punish- 
ments. 'He  must  drink  for  the  first  month  barley- 
corns boiled  soft  in  water;  his  head  must  be  shaved 
and  covered  with  the  hide  of  the  slain  cow;  he  must 
fix  his  abode  on  her  late  pasture  ground;  all  day  he 
must  wait  on  the  herd  and  stand  quaffing  the  dust 
raised  by  their  hoofs;  at  night  having  servilely  at- 
tended and  stroked  and  saluted  them,  he  must  sur- 
round them  with  a  fence,  and  sit  near  to  guard 
them;  he  must  stand  while  they  stand,  follow  them 
when  they  move  together,  and  lie  down  by  them 
when  they  lie  down.  Should  a  cow  be  sick  or  terri- 
fied by  tigers  or  thieves,  or  fall,  or  stick  in  the  mud, 
he  must  relieve  her  by  all  possible  means;  in  heat, 
in  rain,  in  cold,  or  while  the  blast  rages,  he  must  not 
seek  his  own  shelter  without  first  sheltering  the  cows 
to  the  utmost  of  his  power.     He  must  not  speak  a 

^Menu,  3:  7-10. 


HINDU   THEOLOGY.  197 

word  of  a  cow  that  eats  corn  or  grass,  or  of  a  calf 
that  drinks  milk.  By  waiting  on  a  herd  according 
to  these  rules  for  three  months,  the  slayer  of  a  cow 
atones  for  his  guilt.  But,  his  penance  being  per- 
formed, he  must  give  ten  cows  and  a  bull,  or,  his 
stock  not  being  so  large,  all  he  possesses,  to  such  as 
know  the  Veda.^ 

Another  absurd  and  pernicious  error  embraced  in 
the  Hindu  theology,  is  the  notion,  that  the  dumb, 
blind,  deaf,  lame,  and  deformed,  were  thus  born  be- 
cause of  sins  which  their  souls  had  committed  in  a 
previous  state  of  existence.  Such  persons  were  not 
compassionated  as  unfortunate,  but  despised  as  crimi- 
nals suffering  deserved  punishments.^ 

6.  The  Hindu  theology  was  idolatrous.  They 
assimilated  the  incorruptible  and  invisible  God  to 
the  form  of  corruptible  men,  and  of  four-footed 
beasts  and  creeping  things.  There  is,  indeed,  no 
trace  of  image-worship  in  the  Vedas,  their  oldest 
writings.  But  they  fell  into  it  at  an  early  period 
of  their  history.  E-espect  to  the  images  of  the  gods 
is  expressly  enjoined  in  Menu.^ 

7.  The  worship  of  the  Hindus  was  in  keeping 
with  the  character  of  their  theology.  In  addition 
to  prayers,  hymns,  and  sacrifices,  which  constituted 
an  im|X)rtant  part  of  pagan  worship  in  former  times, 
their  religious  services  consisted  in  bodily  austeri- 
ties, the  utterance  of  magic  words,  and  other  trivial 
acts  of  devotion.  They  were  taught  that  sin  is  to  be 
expiated,  and  holiness  attained,  by  self-torture  and 

^Menu,  10:  109-117.     HO:  53.    3  2:176. 

17* 


198  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

other  penances.  Sliding  backward  and  forward  on 
the  ground,  standing  a  whole  day  on  tiptoe,  con- 
tinuing in  motion  by  rising  and  sitting  alternately, 
bathing  at  sun-rise,  noon,  and  sunset,  and  emaciating 
the  body  by  starvation  and  other  austerities,  were 
enjoined  upon  them  as  holy  and  meritorious  acts. 
He  who  would  attain  to  holiness  and  beatitude,  was 
enjoined  to  withdraw  from  all  society  and  live  in 
solitude;  to  have  no  home  and  no  fire;  to  beg  his 
food;  to  eat  but  once  a  day  and  only  when  very 
hungry;  to  wander  about  continually;  to  be  desti- 
tute alike  of  hatred  and  affection,  of  joy  and  sorrow; 
to  avoid  giving  pain  to  animal  and  vegetable  beings, 
but  to  be  completely  indifferent  to  family,  friends, 
and  all  human  creatures;  to  be  constantly  engaged 
in  sublime  meditation;  to  repose  entirely  on  God; 
and  thus  to  raise  himself  after  death  to  immortal 
glory.^  These  voluntary  austerities  and  tortures 
were  considered  only  less  holy  and  meritorious  than 
certain  trivial  acts  of  devotion.  The  Sannyasi,  a 
Brahmin  in  the  fourth  stage  of  advancement,  was 
required,  by  way  of  expiation  for  the  death  of  those 
creatures  which  he  had  perchance  unknowingly  de- 
stroyed,— such  as  insects,— to  make,  after  having 
duly  bathed,  six  suppressions  of  his  breath.  Even 
three  suppressions  of  breath,  made  according  to  the 
prescribed  rule,  and  accompanied  with  the  tri-verbal 
phrase  bhur  hhwah  swah  and  the  syllable  om^  were 
considered  the  highest  devotion  of  a  Brahmin.^  In 
such  a  religion  true  devotion  could  have  no  place. 
^Menu,  C:  32-63.     ^6:  G9-70. 


HINDU   THEOLOGY.  199 

8.  The  Hindu  theology  is  characterized  by  confu- 
storij  incoiisistency ,  and  nhsurdity.  It  is  contained 
in  a  literature  which  is  almost  interminable,  and 
which,  the  Brahmins  say,  is  like  the  ocean  un- 
fathomable. This  vast  collection  of  writings  con- 
tains, indeed,  some  traces  of  monotheism  and  some 
noble  ideas  of  God^s  majesty  and  spirituality;  but 
these  are  completely  overlaid  by  a  vast  and  chaotic 
mythology,  a  confused  and  contradictory  system  of 
pantheism,  polytheism,  materialism,  nature-worship, 
man- worship,  and  image-worship;  and  by  absurd 
speculations  and  hideous  superstitions.  The  Hindu 
theologians  vibrated  between  atheistic  scepticism 
and  monstrous  credulity.  They  represented  the 
Creator  as  a  being  without  character  and  attributes, 
almost  as  a  nonentity,  and  altogether  as  an  object  of 
indifference  to  rational  creatures.  Their  fundamen- 
tal principle  was  but  one  remove  from  atheism.  But 
around  this  starting  point  they  piled  up  a  gigantic 
mass  of  fables,  speculations,  and  superstitions. 

In  the  account  which  we  have  thus  given  of  Hin- 
du, theology,  we  have  followed  neither  the  earliest 
nor  latest  Hindu  writings.  In  the  Vedas — the 
most  ancient  of  which,  according  to  Sir  W.  Jones 
and  other  orientalists,  Avas  written  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era — the  the- 
ology of  the  Hindus  is  not  fully  developed.  But  in 
Menu,  it  is  presented  in  a  matured  state,  and  yet 
free  from  the  corruptions  of  modern  times.  In  the 
Vedas,  too,  we  find  the  germ  of  those  errors  which 
afterward  grew  into  such  gigantic  proportions.  Pro- 
fessor Wilson  says,  that  the  fundamental  doctrine  of 


200  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

the  Vedas  is  monotheism,  but  that  the  titles  and 
functions  given  to  the  deities  commonly  addressed  in 
these  invocations  give  to  the  religion  of  the  Vedas 
the  character  of  the  worship  of  the  elements;  and  it 
is  not  unlikely  that  it  was  so  in  its  earliest  and 
rudest  condition.^  In  the  second  hymn  of  the 
Rig- Veda  there  are  invocations  to  Vayu,  the  god  of 
the  air;  to  Mitra,  the  sun;  to  Varuna,  able  to  de- 
stroy; and  to  Indra,  the  god  of  the  firmament. 
The  theology  of  the  Vedas  is  deeply  tinged  with 
pantheism,  polytheism,  and  materialism;  and  the 
theology  of  3Ienu  is  but  the  natural  and  inevitable 
development  of  it.  In  that  work  we  have  a  full 
representation  of  the  theological  achievements  of  the 
Hindu  mind. 

^  Essays  and  Lects.  on  the  religion  of  the  Hindus,  vol.  2, 
pp.  60-2. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BUDDHIST   THEOLOGY. 

In  the  sixth  century  before  the  Christian  era,  two 
or  three  centuries  after  Brahminism  had  been  estab- 
lished by  the  code  of  MenUy  there  arose  a  new  re- 
ligion which  set  itself  in  opposition  to  the  old,  and 
for  a  time  supplanted  it  as  the  state  religion  of  In- 
dia. This  was  Buddhism,  founded  by  Gotama, 
otherwise  called  Sakya  Muni.  This  religion  in 
some  respects  is  very  remarkable.  Its  success  has 
been  astonishingly  great.  It  was  for  a  long  time 
the  dominant  faith  from  the  Himalayas  to  Ceylon. 
After  being  driven  out  of  the  country  of  its  birth, 
and  enduring  many  a  persecution,  it  continues  to 
hold  sway  in  almost  every  country  of  its  adoption, 
and,  if  second  to  any  other  system  of  religion  in  re- 
spect to  the  number  of  its  adherents,  is  second  only 
to  Christianity.  Like  Christianity,  too,  it  propa- 
gated itself  by  persuasion  beyond  its  own  country, 
which  no  other  systems  of  note  have  ever  done. 
But  when  we  consider  the  dogmas  of  this  religion, 
we  are  at  a  loss  to  account  for  its  power  and  suc- 
cess. In  India,  where  it  originated,  it  was  a  revolt 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  Brahmins,  against  caste, 
the  popular  mythology,  and  the  formalism  and  pro- 
hibitions of  the  old  faith.     It  was,  also,  catholic  in 

201 


202  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

spirit,  addressing  itself  alike  to  all  classes  and  ranks. 
So  far,  it  was  likely  to  recommend  itself  to  the  Hin- 
dus, tired  of  the  restrictions  and  burdens  of  Brah- 
minism.  But  the  affirmative  tenets  of  Buddhism 
are  such  as,  we  would  suppose,  would  make  it  re- 
pulsive to  all  men  in  whom  the  natural  instinct  of 
religion  was  not  utterly  destroyed. 

Buddhism  is  but  another  name  for  atheism.  In- 
credible as  it  may  at  first  appear,  that  a  system 
which  denies  the  doctrine  on  which  all  religion  is 
founded,  should  number  so  large  a  portion  of  man- 
kind among  its  firm  and  devoted  adherents,  it  is  de- 
clared by  those  most  competent  to  decide,  that  Sa- 
kya-Muni  denied  or  ignored  the  existence  of  God. 
Such  is  the  testimony  of  Burnouf,  Miiller,  and 
others.  The  first  of  these  writers  says,  Sakya  never 
spoke  of  God,  and  held  that  there  is  no  God.^  Mdl- 
ier  says,  that  he  denied  the  existence  not  only  of  a 
Creator,  but  of  any  Absolute  Being.^  Sakya  also 
denied  the  existence  of  a  real  world.  He  main- 
tained that  there  is  no  objective  reality;  nothing 
real  but  the  human  soul.  He  taught  that  men 
should  seek  the  annihilation  of  their  souls;  that 
absolute  nothingness  is  the  only  thing  desirable. 
According  to  his  metaphysical  tenets,  there  is  no 
reality  anywhere,  either  in  the  past  or  future;  and 
true  wisdom  consists  in  perceiving  that  the  whole 
world  is  an  illusion,  and  in  desiring  to  become  noth- 
ing. Since  he  denied,  or  at  least  ignored,  the  exist- 
ence of  God,  he  of  course  did  not  recognize  any  such 

^  Introduction  a  1'  Histoirc  du  Buddhisme,  p.  520. 
'  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  vol.  1,  p.  227. 


BUDDHIST   THEOLOGY.  203 

thino^  as  a  divine  law.  Tlie  idea  of  moral  oblioation 
did  not  enter  into  his  system.  He  taught,  not  that 
sin  is  to  be  abhorred  as  a  transgression  or  pollution, 
but  that  it  is  to  be  feared  and  shunned  as  a  misfor- 
tune. Sin  was  supposed  to  originate  in  affection, 
attachment,  and  desire;  and  salvation  to  be  attained 
by  the  deliverance  of  the  soul  from  them.  But  this 
deliverance  of  the  soul  from  all  feeling  and  desire, 
it  was  thought,  could  only  be  effected  by  its  annihi- 
lation. It  seems  almost  incredible  that  such  a  faith 
should  be  received  by  vast  multitudes  of  the  human 
race.  Yet  the  testimony  of  Buddhist  scholars^  does 
not  permit  us  to  doubt  that  by  the  entrance  of  the 
soul  into  Nirvana,  the  heaven  of  the  Buddhists,  was 
meant  the  total  extinction  of  being.  The  idea  that 
Nirvana  was  understood  by  Buddha  and  his  dis- 
ciples to  be  a  state  of  apathy  or  rest  must  be  aban- 
doned. *The  Buddhist  can  discover  no  permanent 
rest,  no  eternity  of  peace,  in  any  world;  and  he 
therefore  concludes  that  there  can  be  no  deliverance 
from  change  and  sorrow  but  by  the  cessation  of  ex- 
istence.^^ 

Buddhism  embraced  the  doctrine  of  the  transmi- 
gration of  souls.  Men  who  did  not  attain  to  holi- 
ness in  this  life  were  not  allowed  to  enter  Nirvana 
at  death,  but  were  doomed  to  a  prolonged  existence. 
The  means  prescribed  for  the  attainment  of  holiness 
and  annihilation  were  much  better  than  the  Budd- 
hist tenets  would  lead  us  to  expect.  Buddha  laid 
down  ^Four  verities;'  the  first  of  which  asserts  the 

^  Burnouf,  Hardy,  and  Miiller. 

^  Hardy's  Manual  of  Buddhism,  p.  508. 


204  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

existence  of  pain;  the  second  asserts  that  pain  origi- 
nates in  sin;  the  third  asserts  that  pain  may  cease 
by  Nirvana;  the  fourth  shpws  the  way  to  Nirvana. 
This  way  to  Nirvana  consists  in  eight  things;  right 
faith  (orthodoxy),  right  judgment  (logic),  right  lan- 
guage (veracity),  right  purpose  (honesty),  right 
practice  (religious  life),  right  obedience  (lawful  life), 
right  memory,  and  right  meditation.^  The  moral- 
ity taught  in  connection  with  the  fourth  Verity,' 
though  much  inferior  to  the  Christian  morality,  ap- 
pears more  excellent  than  all  the  other  systems  that 
have  prevailed  among  men.  Yet  this  morality  was 
deeply  tinged  with  the  religious,  or  rather  unre- 
ligious,  metaphysics  of  Buddhism.  Morality  was  to 
be  practised,  not  as  in  itself  good  or  as  leading  to 
happiness,  but  as  a  self-denial  and  as  the  means  of 
self-annihilation.  Virtue  was  defined  as  that  which 
helped  a  man  to  cr^oss  to  the  other  shore;  and  that 
other  shore  was  the  utter  extinction  of  existence. 
Charity,  even,  was  to  be  practised  in  a  spirit  of 
self-sacrifice.  It  is  reported  that  Buddha,  when  he 
saw  a  tigress  with  her  cubs  nearly  starved,  offered 
his  body  as  a  charitable  oblation,  to  be  devoured  by 
them.  He  and  his  disciples  adopted  the  life  of  men- 
dicants. Celibacy  and  poverty  were  required  of 
those  who  embraced  a  religious  life.  They  were  re- 
quired to  dress  in  rags  gathered  from  cemeteries, 
and  to  beg  their  food.  They  were  to  live  in  forests, 
and  to  have  no  shelter  but  the  shadow  of  a  tree. 
They  were  forbidden  to  lie  down  even  in  sleep;  and 

^  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  vol.  1,  p.  247. 


BUDDHIST   THEOLOGY.  205 

the  only  change  allowed  was  their  spending  some 
nights  in  the  cemeteries,  to  meditate  on  the  vanity 
of  all  things.  This  asceticism  was  the  natural  result 
of  the  belief,  that  everything  objective  is  unreal;  and 
that  all  aifections,  feelings,  and  attachments  are  to 
be  eradicated  and  destroyed.  Actuated  by  such  a 
belief,  the  Buddhist  arrived  at  the  logical  conclusion 
that  the  destruction  of  all  thought,  consciousness, 
and  even  existence,  is  to  be  sought  after  as  the 
greatest  good.  Truly,  as  Prof.  Miiller  says,  such 
a  religion  is  fit  only  for  a  mad-house.  The  theoreti- 
cal part  of  it  could  neither  be  believed  nor  under- 
stood by  more  than  a  few,  if  by  any,  of  those  who 
called  themselves  Buddhists.  Instinctively,  and  per- 
haps unconsciously,  they  would  in  their  own  minds 
reject  it.  A  religion  without  a  God  is  impossible. 
He  who  taught  that  there  is  no  God,  was  himself 
deified  and  worshipped  by  multitudes  of  his  follow- 
ers. Buddhism  soon  became  the  worship  of  Budd- 
ha; and  the  greatest  merit  was  supposed  to  be 
acquired  by  offering  him  presents.  Instead  of  re- 
garding him  as  a  non-entity  after  death,  according 
to  his  own  teachings,  the  Buddhists  honored  him 
with  prayers  and  offerings  as  the  Lord  of  all  life 
and  power. 

Buddhism  as  a  metaphysical  system  is  an  anomaly, 
a  contradiction,  and  a  madness.  It  is  in  reality  not 
a  theology,  for  it  denied  the  existence  of  God.  It 
denied  the  existence  of  the  objective  world,  with  all 
its  changes,  misfortunes,  and  sorrows;  and  yet  it 
taught  that  to  be  emancipated  from  them  the  hu- 
man soul  must  shrink  into  annihilation.  It  asserted 
18 


206  TflEOLOGICAI.    EXCELLENCE. 

that  sin  is  the  cause  of  all  pain ;  and  yet  denied  that 
in  sin  there  is  any  demerit  or  pollution.  It  com- 
mended charity,  and  even  encouraged  men  to  relieve 
starving  brutes  by  making  oblations  of  their  own 
bodies;  and  yet  maintained  that  all  thought  and 
feeling,  all  love  as  well  as  aversion,  must  be  sup- 
pressed and  destroyed  as  pernicious.  It  seemingly 
set  itself  in  opposition  to  the  common  sense,  the  re- 
ligious feelings  and  instinctive  hopes  of  men,  by 
asserting  that  external  things  exist  only  in  human 
thought,  by  denying  the  existence  of  God,  and  by 
teaching  that  the  only  thing  to  be  hoped  for  by  men 
is  to  be  blown  out  of  existence  like  a  candle;  yet  its 
success  and  influence  are  exceeded  only  by  those  of 
Christianity.  What  is  the  secret  of  that  success  and 
influence?  Its  revolt  against  the  sacerdotal  tyranny 
of  the  Brahmins,  its  rejection  of  their  grievous  pro- 
hibitions and  requirements,  and  its  setting  aside  the 
distinctions  of  caste,  might  indeed  recommend  it  to 
the  people  of  India,  but  could  be  of  no  advantage 
to  it  in  countries  where  Brahminism  never  existed. 
Its  recognition  of  human  sinfulness,  and  its  pro- 
posed remedy — human  merit,  and  the  making  of 
one's-self  good  by  the  mortification  of  evil  desire 
and  the  performance  of  external  duties — fall  in  with 
the  prevailing  ideas  and  inclinations  of  mankind. 
But,  doubtless,  the  changes  introduced  into  Budd- 
hism after  its  first  success  on  its  native  soil  were  the 
main  causes  of  its  continued  growth  and  increasing 
power.  Sakya  Muni  became  a  god  to  his  followers, 
and  his  Nirvana  became  a  place  of  peace  and  rest. 
Thus  his  system  was  stripped  of  the  doctrines  which 


BUDDHIST    THEOLOGY.  207 

outraged  the  natural  and  religious  feelings  and  in- 
stincts of  men;  and  became  adapted  to  the  igno- 
rance, prejudices,  and  tastes  of  the  peoples  among 
whom  it  has  flourished.  Among  the  more  culti- 
vated people  of  India,  where  it  originated  and  gain- 
ed its  first  success,  it  was  discarded;  and  the  old 
religion  with  its  millions  of  gods,  confused  myth- 
ology, and  absurd  speculations,  was  re-established 
in  its  place. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   THEOLOGY   OF   THE   ANCIENT   PERSIANS. 

Among  the  oldest  theologies  known  among  men 
is  that  of  the  ancient  Persians.  The  writings  in 
which  it  is  embodied  are  supposed  by  many  to  be 
contemporary  with  the  Vedas,  and  older  than  the 
oldest  books  of  the  Bible.  For  our  knowledge  of 
these  ancient  writings  and  the  theology  which  they 
contain,  we  are  mainly  indebted  to  the  translation 
of  the  Avesta  by  Dr.  Spiegel  of  Germany.^ 

We  shall  take  little  notice  of  the  changes  that  may 
have  taken  place  in  the  religious  belief  and  practices 
of  the  Persians  from  age  to  age.  Doubtless  there 
are  evidences  of  an  earlier  and  later  belief  to  be 
discovered,  as  the  translator  asserts,  in  the  books 
which  he  has  given  to  tlie  world  under  the  name  of 
'Avesta,  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Parsees.'  But 
during  the  whole  time  covered  by  this  motley  collec- 
tion of  hymns,  laws,  prayers,  ritual  prescriptions, 
and  moral  precepts,  the  Persian  theology  remained 
substantially  the  same. 

The  ancient  Persians,  like  most  other  nations, 
recognized  the  existence  of  a  supreme  Deity.     It  is 

*  Avesta,  die  heiligen  Scliriften  der  Parsen,  aus  dem  Grund- 
texte  ubcrsctzt,  mit  steter  Riicksicbt  auf  die  tradition,  von 
Dr.  F.  Spiegel ;  Leipzig. 
208 


PERSIAN   THEOLOGY.  209 

pleasing  to  find  that  in  their  sacred  writings  he  is 
denominated  the  greatest  and  best  of  beings,  the 
holy  Spirit,  the  creator  of  the  earth  and  all  good 
things;  and  that  to  Him  are  ascribed  the  kingdom, 
the  might,  and  the  power.^  This  ancient  people 
were  also  taugbt  that  the  soul  of  man  is  immortal, 
and  that  there  is  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments. They  had  a  fable  about  a  bridge,  called 
Chinvat,  connecting  the  present  and  the  future 
world,  at  which  the  souls  of  the  dead  were  supposed 
to  be  examined  with  regard  to  their  past  conduct.^ 
Paradise  was  promised  as  a  reward  to  the  meritori- 
ous. Even  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  is  brought  to  view  in  some  of  their  writings, 
though  Spiegel  thinks  that  it  was  unknown  among 
them  at  the  time  the  Vendidad,  supposed  to  be  one 
of  their  oldest  books,  was  written.^ 

Yet  the  theology  taught  by  Zarathustra  (Zoroas- 
ter) or  attributed  to  him,  embraced  many  gross  and 
superstitious  errors.  He  taught  that  there  are  two 
creators;  Ahura-Mazda  (Orrauzd),  the  creator  of 
good  things,  and  Agra-mainyus  (Ahriman),  the  god 
of  evil.  This  doctrine  of  two  independent  and  op- 
posing deities  runs  through  the  entire  Avesta.  It  is 
to  this  dualism  of  the  Zarathustric  theology  that 
Isaiah  the  Hebrew  prophet  alludes,  when,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  mission  and  success  of  Cyrus  the  Persian 
king,  he  represents  Jehovah  as  declaring  that  himself 
alone  possesses  Diety,  and  exercises  control  over  both 
the  kingdoms  of  good  and  evil: — ^I  am   the   lord, 

^Yacna,  36-37.  ^  y^jj^jj^jad,  19:  96. 

»Ven.  18:  110,  and  19:  89,  note. 
18* 


210  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLEI^CE. 

and  there  is  none  else;  I  form  the  light  and  create 
darkness;  I  make  peace  and  create  evil;  I  the  lord 
do  all  these  things/^ 

This  fundamental  error  of  a  duality  of  gods  is  the 
starting  point  of  many  other  errors.  Those  who  be- 
lieved in  two  gods  were  likely  to  invent  many  more. 
Accordingly  we  find  that  Ahura-Mazda,  the  god  of 
c/oodness,  is  represented  as  having  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, and  as  being  assisted  by  many  inferior  deities, 
called  Amesha-cpentas,  in  the  creation  and  govern- 
ment of  his  portion  of  the  universe.  These  assist- 
ants of  the  god  of  goodness  are  represented  as  di- 
vided into  several  classes,  terrestrial  and  celestial, 
male  and  female,  as  belonging  to  different  ranks, 
and  possessing  unequal  powers.  Ahura-mazda  is 
only  the  highest  Genius,  the  chief  Divinity,  the  first 
of  the  Amesha-cpentas.  There  are  six  others ;  Vo- 
humano,  the  protector  of  living  creatures;  Asha- 
vahista,  the  genius^  of  fire;  Khshathra-vairya,  the 
god  of  metals;  Cpenta-Armaiti,  the  goddess  of  the 
earth  and  of  wisdom;  Haurvat,  the  lord  of  waters; 
and,  Amereatt,  the  lord  of  trees.^  Fire  is  declared  to 
be  the  son  of  God;  the  earth  his  daughter.  Fire  is 
said  to  have  descendants  among  the  genii  or  demons, 
called  Yazatas.^  These  imaginary  beings,  called 
Amesha-cpentas,  including  Ahura-mazda,  were  re- 
garded as  the  creators  and  rulers  of  the  world. 
The  Yacna  declares  that  'the  wise  Amesha-cpentas 
have  formed  all  thin^s.'^ 

In  like  manner,  Agra-mainyus  was  regarded  as  a 

^  Is.  45  :  6-7.  ^  Yacna,  1 :  5,  note. 

» Vis.  19:  2.  *Yac.44:  1. 


PERSIAN   THEOLOGY.  211 

creator,  and  as  having  a  multitude  of  genii  or  de- 
mons, called  Daevas,  under  his  control.  He  is  the 
Daeva  of  the  Daevas,  the  ddef  of  the  devil-gods^  who 
are  worshipped  and  served  by  bad  men,  but  who 
annoy  the  good,  and  oppose  the  god  of  light  and 
goodness.  They  labor  incessantly  to  thwart  the 
plans  of  Ahura-mazda  and  his  assistant  Amesha- 
cpentas.  If  the  Amesha-cpentas  send  rain  and 
fruitful  seasons;  the  Daevas  send  drought,  cold,  or 
scorching  heat.  If  the  former  create  rivers,  lakes, 
and  fertile  plains;  the  latter  create  deserts,  stagnant 
pools,  and  barren  hills.  If  the  former  create  horses, 
cows,  dogs,  and  other  useful  animals;  the  latter  cre- 
ate wasps,  snakes,  wolves,  hyenas,  and  other  noxious 
animals.  If  the  former  encourage  honesty,  justice, 
industry,  and  all  good  deeds;  the  latter  introduce 
lying,  indolence,  poverty,  disease,  theft,  murder, 
and  everything  pernicious  and  wicked.^  Every- 
thing good  in  creation  and  providence  from  Ahura- 
mazda  and  his  Amesha-cpentas  has  its  evil  counter- 
part from  Agra-mainyus  and  his  Daevas.  Even  the 
creation  of  man  is  a  partnership  of  Good  and  Evil; 
his  soul  being  formed  by  the  good  Deity,  and  his 
body  by  the  devil-gods  of  Agra-mainyus.^ 

The  theology  of  the  ancient  Persians  embraced 
not  only  polytheism,  but  also  materialism.  Ahura- 
mazda  and  the  other  good  Deities,  were  regarded 
not  as  pure  spirits,  but  as  corporeal  beings.  In  the 
Zarathustric  system,  fire  was  the  son  of  the  supreme 
Amesha-cpenta;  earth  his  fair  daughter.^     He  who 

1  Ven.  1:  1-81.     ^  Ven.  9:  69.    ^  Ven.  9:  45-6. 


212  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

was  thought  to  liave  begotten  material  things  from 
himself,  must  have  been  regarded  as  being  a  ma- 
terial substance.  Accordingly  'a  body,  the  fairest 
of  all  bodies,  is  ascribed  to  him;'^  and  material  ob- 
jects were  worshipped  as  the  offspring  of  the  Most 
High,  and  as  partakers  of  his  divinity.  Herodotus 
informs  us  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  ancient 
Persians  to  offer  on  the  summits  of  mountains  sacri- 
fices to  Jupiter,  designating  by  that  name  all  the 
expanse  of  the  firmament;  and  that  they  adored 
also  the  sun,  moon,  earth,  fire,  water,  and  winds, — 
which  were  their  original  deities.^  The  correctness 
of  this  testimony  has  been  called  in  question.  Gib- 
bon declares  that  Herodotus  was  led  by  ^the  true 
spirit  of  a  polytheist'  falsely  to  accuse  the  Persians 
of  deifying  natural  objects ;  and  that  these  were  re- 
garded by  them  merely  as  symbols  of  divinity,  but 
were  not  worshipped  as  gods.^  But  the  old  histo- 
rian declares  that  he  speaks  from  personal  observa- 
tion and  positive  knowledge;*  and  the  researches  of 
modern  scholarship  prove  his  account  to  be  correct. 
Gibbon  derived  his  knowledge  of  the  Persian  relig- 
ion from  the  French  translation  of  the  Avesta  by 
M.  d'  Anquetil.  But  the  more  correct  translation 
of  the  Avesta  recently  published  in  Germany  de- 
monstrates, that  the  ancient  Persians  were  the  wor- 
shippers of  natural  objects.  The  sun,  moon,  stars, 
firmament,  air,  earth,  waters,  winds,  trees,  and  other 
material  things,  are  expressly  mentioned  as  objects 
of  veneration.     We  present  some  extracts  from  the 

^  Yacna,  36 :  14.    ^  B.  1 :  131.    ^  Decline  and  fall,  ch.  8. 
*B.  1:  13,140. 


PEESIAN   THEOLOGY.  213 

Yacna,  which,  though  translated  from  a  translation, 
are  sufficiently  accurate,  we  trust  to  give  a  proper 
idea  of  the  polytheistic  and  pantheistic  materialism 
embraced  in  the  Zarathustric  theology. 

*The  Creator,  Ahura-mazda,  we  praise.  The 
Mithra,  who  possesses  wide  pastures,  a  thousand 
ears,  ten  thousand  eyes,  who  has  a  renowned  name, 
and  adorable,  we  praise. 

^The  Asha-vahista  (genius  of  fire)  and  Fire,  the 
son  of  Ahura-mazda,  we  praise. 

^The  water,  created  by  Mazda,  we  praise. 

'The  Ahura  and  Mithra  (sun),  the  two  great,  im- 
perishable, pure  (beings),  we  praise;  and  the  Stars, 
and  the  Moon,  the  Sun,  the  Trees,  the  Mithra,  the 
Lord  of  all  regions,  we  praise. 

'Thee,  the  Fire,  the  son  of  Ahura-mazda,  the 
pure,  the  Lord  of  the  Pure,  we  praise,  together  with 
all  fires.  ^ 

'  These  Waters,  Regions,  Trees,  we  praise.  '  These 
Places,  Spaces,  Pastures,  Dwellings,  and  Fountains, 
we  praise.  This  Lord  of  the  places,  the  Ahura- 
mazda,  we  praise.^^ 

When  the  ancient  Persian  presented  offerings  to 
his  gods,  he  made  the  following  declaration:  'With 
purification,  I  present  offerings  to  these  Places, 
Spaces,  Pastures,  Dwellings,  Fountains,  Waters,  Re- 
gions, Trees;  to  this  Earth,  to  this  Heaven,  to  the 
Winds,  the  Stars,  the  Moon,  the  Sun,  to  the  Lights 
without  beginning,  the  self-created,  to  all  the  crea- 
tures of  Cpenta-mainyus,  the   pure — male  and   fe- 

1  Yacna,  6:1,6,  10,  36,  39,  49. 


214  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

male — to  the  Lords  of  the  Pure.'^  In  the  chapters 
from  which  the  above  extracts  are  given,  the  wor- 
shipi^er  is  represented  giving  praise  and  olferings  to 
the  sun,  moon,  stars,  winds,  waters,  trees,  and  all 
kinds  of  material  and  inanimate  things;  as  well  as 
to  the  Amesha-cpentas,  genii,  demons  and  spirits. 
Never  have  we  found  in  any  writings  a  more  com- 
plete identification  of  Deity  with  material  things 
than  in  this  old  Zarathustric  ritual.  The  only  par- 
allel to  it  is  found  in  the  theologies  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians  and  Hindus.  Like  them,  the  Persians 
working  out  the  pantheistic  and  polytheistic  ideas, 
deified  all  kinds  of  material  objects,  and  came  in  the 
end  to  regard  the  Almighty  Spirit  as  possessing  cor- 
poreal substance;  and  as  differing  only  in  degree, 
not  in  kind,  from  the  beings  and  things  wdiich  com- 
pose the  universe. 

But  the  writings  attributed  to  Zarathustra,  teach 
the  worship  of  men,  as  w^ell  as  of  iimiginary  beings 
and  material  substances.  Again  and  again,  are  the 
souls  of  the  departed  addressed  as  objects  of  praise 
and  invocation.  They  are  worshipped  under  the 
name  of  Fravashis?  Even  living  men  and  women 
receive  divine  honors: — *The  women,  the  good  god- 
desses, who  proceed  from  the  good  Father,  the  well- 
grown,  I  invoke  with  praise.'^  Zarathustra  is  wor- 
shipped as  second  only  to  the  Most  High: — ^Here 
by  means  of  the  Zaothra  and  Berecma,  I  invoke 
with  praise  thee,  Ahura-mazda,  the  heavenly  Lord, 
tlic  Lord  and  Master  of  heavenly  creatures,  of  the 

^Yacna,   7:  50.     ^Yac.G:  17,54,26:  11-35. 
^Vispered,  2:  17. 


PERSIAN  THEOLOGY.  215 

heavenly  creation.  *  *  Here,  by  means  of  the 
Zaothra  and  the  Berecma,  I  invoke  with  praise,, 
thee,  Zarathiistra,  the  holy,  earthly  Lord,  the  Lord 
and  Master  of  the  earthly  creatures,  of  the  earthly 
creation/^ 

One  of  the  worst  features  of  the  Persian  theology 
was  its  inculcation  of  the  worship  of  fabulous  and 
monstrous  beings.  Mithra,  the  god  of  light,  was 
represented  as  having  a  thousand  ears  and  ten  thou- 
sand eyes.^  Doubtless  his  many  ears  and  eyes  were 
at  first  symbolic  of  his  office  and  character;  but 
doubtless  also  by  such  symbolic  representations 
idolatry  and  polytheism  wxre  originated  and  spread 
abroad.  Often  is  Uhe  navel  of  the  waters'  men- 
tioned as  an  object  of  adoration.  By  this  was  meant 
a  fabulous  chain  of  mountains,  which,  according  to 
the  Persian  cosmology,  girdled  the  whole  earth.^ 
Also,  according  to  the  Persian  mythology,  there 
was  at  first  a  solitary  Bull  in  the  world,  who  was 
killed  by  Agra-mainyus.  After  his  death,  useful 
kinds  of  grain  were  formed  from  his  body;  and  his 
soul  ascended  to  heaven,  where  it  lamented  that  the 
world  was  without  protection  against  the  corrupt- 
ing influences  of  Agra-mainyus,  until  the  Fravashi 
(spirit)  of  Zarathustra  was  shown  to  it,  whereupon 
it  was  comforted.  This  fabulous  animal  is  often 
mentioned  in  the  Avesta  as  the  object  of  religious 
worship.  Both  his  body  and  soul  are  represented 
as  worthy  of  veneration.  Praises  are  ascribed  to 
him  as  to  a  god.^ 

1  Vis.  2 :  4,  7.        ^  yac.  1:9.        » yac.  1 :  15,  note. 
*Yac.  1:  Q,note.    Vis.  10:  23. 


216  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

Another  fabulous  animal,  celebrated  in  the  Zara- 
thustric  writings,  is  the  ass  standing  in  the  middle 
of  the  sea  of  Vouru -Kasha.  This  sea  is  a  fabulous 
reservoir  of  pure  water,  frequently  mentioned  as  the 
object  of  adoration  along  with  fire,  the  firmament, 
and  Ahura-mazda  himself.^  This  ass  was  repre- 
sented in  the  later  mythology  as  being  three-legged. 
Divine  honors  are  ascribed  to  him : — '  The  pure  Ass, 
that  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  sea  of  Youru-Kasha, 
we  praise.'^ 

In  addition  to  the  worship  of  fabulous  and  mon- 
strous beings,  the  ancient  Persians  were  led  by  their 
theology  to  perform  absurd  ceremonies  for  exorcism 
and  purification.  They  were  taught  to  believe  that 
Agra-mainyus,  the  chief  of  the  devil-gods,  and  some- 
times called  the  Serpent,  introduced  death  into  the 
world,  as  well  as  other  evils.  He  is  represented  as 
employing  his  Daevas  to  kill  men;  and  a  class  of 
them,  called  the  Drukhs  Xacus  were  supposed  to 
take  possession  of  men's  bodies.  To  drive  them 
out,  a  tedious  process  was  necessary.  They  were 
driven  from  one  part  to  another  by  the  application 
of  water.  It  would  seem  that  the  Daevas,  which 
infested  human  bodies,  like  mad-dogs  dreaded 
water.  The  water  was  first  poured  on  the  forehead. 
The  process  is  described  by  questions  and  answers, 
recorded  as  a  conversation  between  Zarathustra  and 
Ahura-mazda,  as  follows;  'Creator!  When  the 
good  water  comjs  on  his  forehead,  whither  rushes 
then  this  Drukhs  Nacus?     Whereupon  Ahura-maz- 

iVis.  8:  18-20.     Yac.  07:  14.      ^  Yacna,  41:  28,  note. 


PERSIAN   THEOLOGY.  217 

da  answered,  Between  the  eye-brows  of  this  man 
rushes  this  Drukhs  Nacus. — Creator !  When  the 
good  water  comes  between  the  eye-brows  of  this 
man,  Avhither  rushes  then  this  Drukhs  Nacus? 
Whereupon  Ahura-mazda  answered,  To  tiie  back  of 
his  head. — Creator !  When  tlie  good  water  comes 
on  the  back  of  his  head,  whither  rushes  then  this 
Drukhs  Nacus?  Whereupon  Ahura-mazda  answer- 
ed. To  his  cheek  rushes  this  Drukhs  Nacus.'  By  a 
continuance  of  these  monotonous  questions  and  an- 
swers, we  are  informed  how  the  evil  spirit  is  to  be 
driven  from  the  cheek  to  the  right  ear;  from  the 
right  ear  to  the  left  ear;  from  the  left  ear  to  the 
right  shoulder;  to  the  left  shoulder;  to  the  upper 
breast;  to  the  back;  to  the  right  nipple;  to  the  left 
nipple;  to  the  right  rib;  to  the  left  rib;  to  the  right 
hip;  to  the  left  hip;  to  the  lower  part  of  the  body; 
to  the  right  thigh;  to  the  left  thigh;  right  knee; 
left  knse;  right  shin  bone;  left  shin  bone;  right 
foot;  left  foot;  right  knuckle;  left  knuckle;  sole  of 
the  right  foot.  Then  the  process  is  as  follows: 
'With  the  toes  turned  down  and  the  heels  raised 
up,  sprinkle  the  sole  of  his  right  foot.  Then  this 
Drukhs  Nacus  rushes  to  the  sole  of  the  left  foot. 
Then  moisten  his  left  sole,  and  this  Drukhs  Nacus 
will  be  pressed  back  under  the  toes  like  the  wing  of 
a  gnat.  With  the  heels  turned  down  and  the  toes 
raised  up,  sprinkle  his  right  toes.  Then  this 
Drukhs  Nacus  rushes  to  his  left  toes.  Sprinkle  his 
left  toes.  Then  will  this  Drukhs  Nacus  be  driven 
back  to  the  northern  regions,  in  the  form  of  a  fly.'^ 

^Ven.  8:  131-228. 
19 


218        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

We  present  those  extracts,  tedious  as  they  are, 
because  they  show  what  absurd  and  superstitious 
ideas  abound  in  the  Zarathustric  books.  The  fact 
that  these  questions  and  answers,  continued  with 
tiresome  iteration  throughout  many  pages,  and 
characterized  by  childishness,  were  supposed  by  the 
ancient  Persians  to  have  been  an  actual  conversation 
between  the  Creator  and  Zarathustra,  shows  how 
low  and  erroneous  were  their  theological  ideas. 

We  call  attention  to  one  other  feature  of  this 
ancient  theology — the  absurdity  of  its  penances  and 
atonements.  In  the  Zarathustric  ritual  these  occupy 
a  prominent  place.  As  specimens  we  present  the 
following.  For  giving  bad  food  to  a  village  dog 
(dogs  are  much  honored  in  the  Avesta),  the  trans- 
gressor was  required  to  make  atonement  by  receiv- 
ing ^on  his  sinful  body'  ninety  strokes  of  the  horse- 
goad  and  ninety  of  the  Craosho-charana.  For 
giving  bad  food  to  a  cattle  dog,  the  atonement  was 
heavier, — two  hundred  strokes  of  the  horse-goad, 
and  two  hundred  of  tlie  Craosho-charana.^  The 
punishment  for  injuring  a  cattle  dog  so  as  ^to  di- 
minish his  life-power,'  ^vas  eight  hundred  strokes 
with  the  horse-goad,  and  the  same  number  with  the 
Craosho-charana.  The  punishment  for  injuring  a 
village  dog  was  not  quite  so  severe, — seven  hundred 
strokes  with  each  of  these  instruments.^  But  for 
hiUing  either  a  cattle  or  a  village  dog,  there  was  no 
expiation.  It  is  declared  concerning  the  perpetrator 
of  this  crime,  Miis  soul  goes,  full  of  horror,  and  dis- 

^Ven.  13:  G3-G8.     M3:  38-47. 


PERSIAN   THEOLOGY.  219 

eased,  from  this  our  world  to  the  unearthly/^  For 
killing  a  water  animal  which  seems  to  have  been  re- 
garded as  a  species  of  dog,  and  which,  according  to 
the  fabulous  account  recognized  in  the  Vendidad, 
was  produced  from  *a  thousand  female  and  a  thou- 
sand male  dogs,'  a  stupendous  atonement  was  re- 
quired. The  transgressor  was  required  to  provide 
ten  thousand  loads  of  hard  wood,  well-hewed  and 
well-dried,  for  the  fire  of  Ahura-mazda,  and  ten 
thousand  loads  of  soft  wood  for  the  same  purpose; 
to  bind  ten  thousand  bundles  for  Berecma;  to  pre- 
pare teu  thousand  Zaothras  of  Haoma  and  flesh ;  to 
kill  ten  thousand  reptiles  which  glide  along  on  the 
earth,  and  ten  thousand  ^  which  have  the  bodies  of 
dogs;'  to  kill  ten  thousand  turtles,  ten  thousand 
land  lizards,  ten  thousand  water  lizards,  ten  thou- 
sand ants  which  ^ carry  away  the  grains  of  corn,'  ten 
thousand  ants  which  lead  'a  mischievous  course,' 
ten  thousand  mice  which  live  in  the  dirt,  and  ten 
thousand  mischievous  gnats.  He  was  further  re- 
quired to  fill  ten  thousand  impure  holes  in  the 
earth,  and  to  devote  twice  seven  instruments,  axe, 
hammer,  etc,  for  the  expiation  of  his  soul.  All  this 
was  required  as  an  atonement  for  killing  an  animal, 
perhaps  a  beaver  or  a  muskrat,  to  which  was  attrib- 
uted a  fabulous  origin.^ 

For  the  purification  of  the  body  in  a  certain  case 

of  constructive  defilement,  a  man  was  required  to 

slaughter  a  thousand  small    cattle   and   the   small 

cattle   of  all    the   herds,  as  an   offering;    to   bring 

^Ven.  13:  22.     ^14:  1-54. 


220  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLE^CE. 

water;  to  furnish  a  thousand  loads  of  hard  dry 
wood  and  a  thousand  loads  of  soft  wood;  to  bind  a 
thousand  bundles  for  Berecma;  to  offer  a  thousand 
Zaothras  with  Haoma  and  flesh;  to  kill  a  thousand 
gliding  reptiles,  two  thousand  reptiles  of  another 
kind,  a  thousand  land  lizards,  two  thousand  water 
lizards,  a  thousand  ants  that  drag  away  the  corn 
and  two  thousand  ants  of  another  kind;  to  build 
thirty  bridges  over  streams  of  running  water,  and 
to  receive  a  thousand  strokes  with  the  horse-goad 
and  a  thousand  with  the  Craosho-charana.^ "  The 
purification  of  fire,  waters,  trees,  cattle,  dwellings, 
men,  women,  the  earth,  stars,  moon,  sun,  light,  and 
all  good  things  created  by  Ahura-mazda,  was  by  the 
repetition  of  certain  prayers.^  But  in  some  cases 
the  prayers  were  accompanied  by  rites  of  such  a 
character  that  we  must  pass  them  over  in  silence. 

The  Persian  theology  may  be  summed  up  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  The  doctrine  of  a  supreme  Being ;  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  not  however  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
annihilation  of  the  souls  of  wricked  men;  future  re- 
wards and  punishments ;  and  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  Probably  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and 
the  annihilation  of  the  wicked  were  not  taught  by 
Zarathustra,  but  became  known  to  the  Persians  after 
his  time.  But  the  doctrine  of  a  supreme  Being, 
Ahura-mazda,  greatest,  wisest,  and  most  powerful, 
is  prominent  throughout  the  Avesta. 

2.  Polytlieism.     Besides  Ahura-mazda   the  god  of 

»Ven.  18:  136-152.     Ul:  6-41. 


PERSIAN   THEOLOGY.  221 

goodness,  and  Agra-mainyus,  the  god  of  evil,  six 
good  deities,  assistants  of  the  former,  were  recog- 
nized. In  addition  to  these  six  principal  assistants 
of  Ahura-mazda,  a  vast  crowd  of  inferior  deities — 
Amesha-cpentas,  Yazatas,  Fravashis,  spirits,  de- 
mons, genii,  beings  celestial  and  terrestrial,  visible 
and  invisible,  male  and  female — are  represented  as 
sharing  with  Ahura-mazda  in  the  creation  and  do- 
minion of  the  world,  and  as  the  objects  of  worship. 

3.  Panthelst'iG  materialism.  Ahura-mazda,  thous^h 
called  the  holy  Spirit,  is  represented  as  a  corporeal 
being,  as  having  wives  and  begetting  children. 
The  sun,  the  earth,  fire,  light,  and  other  material 
things,  are  declared  to  be  his  offspring.  The  an- 
cient Persians  deified  not  only  imaginary  beings, 
human  spirits,  and  the  heavenly  bodies;  but  also 
the  earth,  waters,  winds,  trees,  metals,  and  all  kinds 
of  material  things.  In  their  worship,  they  scarcely 
distinguished  between  the  Creator  and  the  creation. 
They  materialized  the  one,  and  deified  the  other. 

4.  Man-worship.  Zarathustra  was  worshipped  as 
a  god.  The  souls  of  the  departed  received  divine 
honors.     Some  of  Hhe  good  goddesses^  were  women. 

5.  The  worship  of  fabulous  and  monstrous  animals. 

6.  Absurd  and  outlandish  rites  and  penances  for 
the  exorcism  of  evil  spirits,  the  purification  of  the 
body,  and  the  expiation  of  sin. 

Such  is  the  Zarathustric  theology — a  theology 
which  exerted  a  powerful  influence  for  centuries 
over  a  large  portion  of  mankind.  It  contained 
some  truth,  as  does  every  system  of  error.  But  it 
was  made  up  mainly  of  fable,  speculation,  and  ab- 
19* 


222  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

surdity.  It  prevailed  only  among  the  people  among 
whom  it  originated;  and  like  most  systems  of  reli- 
gions error,  it  was  destined  to  perish  on  the  soil  that 
gave  it  birth.  It  had  in  it  but  little  to  elevate  and 
purity,  but  much  to  degrade  and  debase,  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  men. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHINESE   THEOLOGY. 

Three  systems  of  religion  have  been  prevalent 
in  China — Buddhism,  Tauisra,  and  Confucianism. 
Buddhism,  which  was  introduced  from  India,  was 
established  as  a  third  state  religion  about  the 
middle  of  the  first  century.  Tauism  was  indige- 
nous, and  sprung  up  before  the  introduction  of 
Buddhism.  Confucianism  is  older  than  either;  its 
doctrines  and  worship  having  existed  long  before 
the  birth  of  the  man  after  whom  it  is  named.  This 
is  the  national  religion  of  China.  Confucius,  though 
regarded  as  the  founder  of  a  religion,  was  not  an  in- 
novator. He  declared  himself  to  be  a  transmitter, 
not  a  maker;  one  who  believed  in  and  loved  the 
ancients.  He  was  conservative  in  his  tendencies, 
and  talked  much  about  the  rules  of  propriety  estab- 
lished by  ancient  sages.  He  was  the  great  man  of 
the  Chinese;  their  theological  as  well  as  moral  in- 
structor.    The  theology  of  China  is  Confucian. 

It  appears  that  the  monotheistic  belief  prevailed 
among  tlie  Chinese  in  very  early  times.  At  least, 
the  doctrine  of  a  personal  God  was  a  part  of  the 
faith  of  their  earlier  sages.  In  the  She-King,  a 
book  composed  before  Confucius'  time,  but  compiled 

223 


224  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

by  him/  the  Creator  and  ruler  of  the  universe  is 
represented  hv  a  personal  name.  He  there  appears 
as  a  personal  being,  ruling  in  heaven  and  on  earth, 
the  author  of  man's  moral  nature,  the  governor 
among  the  nations,  the  rewarder  of  the  good  and 
the  punisher  of  the.bad.^ 

But  in  the  Chinese  theology  as  presented  by  Con- 
fucius, the  personality  of  God  is  discarded.  In  his 
Analects  he  does  not  once  designate  the  Supreme 
Being  by  a  personal  name.  He  preferred  to  speak 
of  Heaven.  Pie  spoke  of  praying  to  Heaven  instead 
of  to  God,  and  of  men  offending  against  Heaven 
instead  of  against  God.  In  thus  discarding  the 
Divine  personality  and  confounding  him  with  the 
works  of  his  hands,  Confucius  gave  occasion  to  his 
followers  to  identify  him  with  a  principle  of  reason 
and  the  course  of  nature,  and  prepared  the  way  for 
atheistic  speculations  in  modern  times.  Dr.  Legge 
expresses  the  opinion  that  he  did  not  consciously  and 
designedly  make  any  change  in  the  ancient  creed  of 
China;  that  he  was  itiireligious  rather  than  irreli- 
gious; and  that  owing  to  his  coldness  in  religion, 
rather  than  to  his  positive  teachings,  his  influence 
is  unfavorable  to  the  development  of  true  religious 
feeling  among  the  Chinese  people.  But  be  this  as 
it  may,  their  theology,  as  expounded  by  their  greatest 
teacher,  is,  to  say  the  least,  indistinct  and  hesitating 
in  its  utterance  of  the  fundamental  truth  of  all  reli- 
gion— the  existence  of  God. 

The  Chinese  theology  was  tinged  with  pantheism 

^  Chips  from  a  German  "Workshop,  vol.  1,  p.  304. 
^  Leggc's  Confucius,  p.  100. 


CHINESE  THEOLOGY.  225 

and  polytheism.  The  rejection  of  the  personal  name 
of  God  indicates  a  pantheistic  tendency.  The  wor- 
ship of  Heaven  was  substituted  for  the  worship  of 
the  Almighty  living  Creator.  The  Chinese  oiFered 
sacrifices  both  to  Heaven  and  Earth.  They  regarded 
the  worship  of  ancestors  as  a  religious  duty.  Their 
ritual  provided  for  sacrifices  to  three  classes  of  ob- 
jects— ^Spirits  of  heaven,  of  earth,  of  men.'^  The 
worship  of  departed  ancestors  and  of  spiritual  beings 
existed  in  China  from  the  earliest  historical  times. 
This  practice  Confucius  approved  and  followed. 
^He  sacrificed  to  the  dead,  as  if  they  were  present. 
He  sacrificed  to  the  spirits,  as  if  the  spirits  were 
present.'^  This  worshipping  of  departed  ancestors 
was  originally  founded  on  a  belief  in  their  continued 
existence.  Those  w^ho  instituted  it  certainly  did  not 
think  that  all  conscious  being  ceases  with  life.  But 
Confucius  never  spoke  explicitly  on  this  subject. 
When  questioned  in  regard  to  it,  he  said;  'While 
you  do  not  know  life,  how  can  you  know  death?' 
He  enforced  the  worship  of  the  dead,  without  recog- 
nizing the  faith  from  which  it  sprung.^  His  exam- 
ple and  teachings  in  reference  to  this  matter  have 
led  many  of  his  followers  to  deny  the  existence  of 
any  spirit  at  all,  and  to  regard  their  own  sacrifices 
to  the  dead  as  a  mere  outward  form,  expressive  of 
filial  regard.  The  spirit  and  tendency  of  Chinese 
theology,  are  indicated  by  the  worship  given  to  Con- 
fucius himself.  Soon  after  his  death,  a  temple  was 
erected,  in  which  sacrifices  were  offered   to   the  de- 

^  Legge's  Confucius,  p.  127.    '  p.  130.     ^  p.  101. 


226  TflEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

parted  sage  at  the  four  seasons  of  the  year.  Emper- 
ors visited  his  tomb  and  oifered  sacrifices  to  him. 
In  the  year  A.  D.  57,  it  was  enacted  that  sacrifices 
should  be  offered  to  him  in  the  imperial  college  and 
in  all  the  colleges  of  the  principal  territorial  divis- 
ions of  the  empire.  About  the  same  time  began  the 
custom  of  erecting  temples  to  him  in  connection  with 
all  the  colleges  of  the  country.  In  these  temples 
his  image  is  kept.  On  the  first  day  of  every  month 
offerings  of  fruits  and  vegetables  are  presented;  and 
on  the  fifteenth  there  is  a  solemn  burning  of  incense. 
Twice  a  year  the  worship  of  Confucius  is  performed 
with  peculiar  solemnity.  At  the  imperial  college, 
the  emperor  is  required  to  attend  in  state,  and  is  the 
principal  performer.  After  kneeling  twice  and  bow- 
ing his  head  six  times  to  the  earth,  he  invokes  the 
presence  of  Confucius'  spirit.  Then,  his  spirit  being 
present,  as  is  supposed,  sacrifices  are  offered,  and  a 
prayer  is  addressed  to  him  as  a  *  Teacher  equal  in 
virtue  to  Heaven  and  Earth. ^  Of  this  homage  Dr. 
Legge  says,  it  is  complete;  and  that  it  is  worship, 
and  not  mere  homage.^ 

The  Chinese  theology  may  be  summed  up  as 
follows: 

1.  The  doctrine  of  a  Supreme  Beings  held  from  the 
earliest  times  and  never  entirely  abandoned.  2. 
The  deification  and  worship  of  spirits — beings  resi- 
dent in  heaven  and  earth,  who  were  supposed  to  be 
superior  to  men,  and  to  watch  over  their  affairs.  3. 
Man-worship — the  paying  of  divine   honors  to   the 

ip.  93. 


CHINESE  THEOLOGY.  227 

dead,  and  the  deification  of  Confucius  himself.  4. 
All  element  of  pantheism y  j)olytheism,  and  yaateriaUsm  ; 
manifested  in  discarding  the  personal  name  of  God, 
setting  aside  His  personality,  offering  sacrifices  to 
Heaven  and  Earth  as  to  the  Creator,  the  identifica- 
tion of  Him  with  a  principle  of  reason,  and  the 
giving  of  the  worship  to  spirits,  to  Confucius,  and 
other  dead  men,  that  is  due  to  God  alone.  5.  For- 
mality— worship  maintained  as  a  mere  ceremony  and 
show — divine  honors  paid  to  deceased  ancestors  after 
all  faith  in  the  existence  of  human  souls  after  death, 
and  in  the  existence  of  spirits  at  all,  had  ceased. 

6.  We  have  an  exemplification  of  the  spirit  and 
tendency  of  the  Chinese  theology  in  the  religious  or 
rather  unrellgious  character  and  conduct  of  Confu- 
cius— cold,  sceptical,  and  formal;  a  punctilious  ob- 
server of  ancient  ceremonies  and  customs;  and  en- 
couraging such  ideas  and  practices  as  led  to  his 
own  worship  as  a  god,  and  to  his  receiving  the 
honor  which  is  due  only  to  the  God  of  heaven. 
There  is  much  that  is  absurd,  ridiculous,  and  dis- 
gusting in  the  Egyptian,  Hindu,  and  Persian  reli- 
gions; but  we  doubt  whether  they  contained  any- 
thing so  pernicious  as  the  formality,  insincerity,  and 
scepticism  embraced  in  the  theology  and  worship  of 
the  Chinese. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   GRECIAN   THEOLOGY. 

The  theology  of  the  ancient  Greeks  may  be  con- 
sidered in  three  aspects;  poetic,  civil,  and  philo- 
sophical. 

1.  The  theology  of  the  poets.  The  Grecian  poets 
were  the  religious  instructors  of  the  people.  Their 
writings  embody  the  popular  theology.  As  is  well 
known,  this  was  polytheistic.  The  poets,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  popular  belief,  celebrated  the  praises 
of  a  vast  crowd  of  gods  and  goddesses;  heavenly, 
earthly,  marine,  and  infernal — superior  and  infe- 
rior— Jupiter,  Apollo,  Mars,  Neptune,  Pluto,  Vul- 
can, Juno,  Minerva,  Venus,  Diana,  and  many 
others.  Hesiod,  w4io  is  perhaps  the  most  ancient  of 
the  Grecian  poets,  speaks  of  the  immortal  gods,  sub- 
ject to  Jupiter,  and  guardians  of  men,  as  being  in 
number  thirty  thousand}  These  imaginary  beings, 
called  gods,  arc  represented  as  possessing  corporeal 
forms  and  human  passions;  as  wrangling,  quarrel- 
ling, and  fighting  with  one  another;  as  marrying, 
and  begetting  offspring;  and  as  committing  tlie 
sins  and  crimes  that  are  common  among  men.  Ho- 
mer, Hesiod,  and  all  the  Grecian  poets,  in  their  ac- 
counts of  the  gods,  speak  of  their  intrigues,  amours, 

^  Oper.  et  Dicr.  1 :  250. 
228 


GRECIAN   THEOLOGY.  229 

wratli,  dissensions,  drunkenness,  adulteries,  seduc- 
tions, falsehood,  theft,  hypocrisies,  feasts,  births, 
marriages,  combats,  wounds,  murders,  and  beastly 
vices.  According  to  the  poetic  and  popular  my- 
thology, Jupiter,  the  chief  god,  was  a  selfish  tyrant 
and  an  adulterous  ravisher;  Juno,  his  wife  and 
sister,  the  queen  of  heaven,  was  proud,  cruel,  re- 
vengeful, ambitious,  and  jealous;  Apollo,  the  son 
of  Jupiter  by  an  adulterous  intrigue,  and  the  god  of 
medicine  and  of  the  fine  arts,  was  a  plausible  and 
handsome  seducer;  Venus,  the  goddess  of  beauty 
and  love,  was  the  patroness  of  prostitutes  and  adul- 
terers, and  the  promoter  of  lewd  desires  and  de- 
baucheries. These  were  among  the  chief  gods  cele- 
brated by  the  Grecian  poets,  and  worshipped  by  the 
common  people.  Though  they  did  not  deify  the 
elements  and  objects  of  nature  to  the  same  extent  as 
the  ancient  Egyptians,  Hindus,  and  Persians,  their 
theology  was  more  debasing  and  devilish.  *Tlie- 
elegant  mythology-  of  the  Greeks,'  and  partly  be- 
cause it  was  elegant,  had  a  seductive  power.  The 
imaginary  beings  celebrated  as  gods  in  the  Grecian 
poetry,  with  their  human  passions  and  vices,  were 
far  more  attractive  and  corrupting  than  the  ram- 
headed  Ammon,  the  ibis-headed  Thoth,  and  Athor 
with  a  human  face  and  ears  of  a  cow,  that  were 
worshipped  by  the  ancient  Egyptians;  or  than  the 
elements  and  powers  of  nature,  and  the  fabulous 
monsters,  that  were  worshipped  by  the  Hindus  and 
Persians. 

2.  The  civil  theology  of  the  Greeks  was  founded 
on  the  mythology  of  the   poets,  who  but  reflected 
20 


230  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

the  belief  of  the  common  people.  The  laws  did 
not,  of  course,  sanction  all  that  the  poets  imagined 
and  wrote;  but  they  recognized  the  whole  'rabble  of 
gods,'  superior  and  inferior,  supernal  and  infernal, 
male  and  female,  that  figure  so  largely  in  Grecian 
poetry,  and  were  worshipped  by  the  Grecian  people. 
No  new  god  and  no  new  mode  of  worship  could  be 
introduced  without  the  previous  sanction  of  the 
magistrates.  One  of  the  laws  of  Draco  required  the 
Athenians  'always  to  pay  due  homage  in  public 
towards  their  gods  and  native  heroes,  according  to 
the  usual  customs  of  their  country.'^  Socrates  was 
charged  with  atheism  because  he  did  not  worship 
the  gods  of  his  country.  Plato  was  forced  to  dis- 
semble his  religious  sentiments  in  order  to  escape 
being  called  to  account  by  the  court  of  the  Areopa- 
gites.  Paul  was  tried  by  this  court  on  the  charge 
of  being  *a  setter  forth  of  strange  gods.'  In  short, 
the  civil  laws  established  the  poetic  mythology,  and 
the  popular  worship,  as  the  religion  of  the  country. 
3.  The  theology  o^  the  philoso2:>he}'s  was  contradic- 
tory and  absurd,  and  on  the  whole  was  no  better 
than  the  mythology  of  the  poets.  Anaximander 
maintained  that  the  gods  are  born  and  die  like  men. 
Naximenes  taught  that  the  air  is  God,  that  he  was 
])r()duced  by  generation,  and  though  immense  and 
infinite,  is  always  in  motion.  Alcma^on  of  Crotona 
attributed  divinity  to  the  sun,  raoun,  and  stars;  and 
also  to  the  human  mind.  Pythagoras  supposed  the 
Deity  to  be  a  soul  mixing  with  and  pervading  all 
» Potter's  Grcc.  Aiitiq.,  pp.  94,  130-1. 


GRECIAN   THEOLOGY.  231 

nature;  and  that  from  the  divine  soul  human  souls 
are  taken.  Xenophanes  asserted  that  everything  in 
the  world,  including  the  human  intellect,  is  God. 
Parmenides  conceived  an  orb  of  light  and  heat 
around  the  heavens,  which  he  called  God.  He  also 
ascribed  divinity  to  the  stars,  war,  discord,  and  the 
human  passions.  Democritus  classed  men's  images 
or  conceptions  of  objects  among  the  number  of  the 
gods.  Xenocrates  maintained  that  there  are  eight 
gods — five,  moving  planets;  the  sixth  contained  in 
the  fixed  stars  taken  together;  the  seventh,  the  sun; 
and  the  eighth,  the  moon.  Heraclides  maintained 
at  one  time  that  the  ^vorld  is  a  deity;  and  at 
another,  the  human  mind.  He  ascribed  divinity  to 
the  wanderino;  stars.  Cleanthes  maintained  that  the 
world  is  God,  that  the  sky  is  God,  and  that  the  stars 
are  gods.  Chrysippus  maintained  that  the  world  is 
God.  He  deified  fire,  earth,  water,  and  air.  He 
also  attributed  divinity  to  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  and 
universal  space.^ 

The  theological  opinions  even  of  the  most  gifted 
and  wisest  of  the  philosophers  w^ere  dark,  confused, 
and  erroneous.  Socrates  believed  in  a  supreme 
Being,  but  he  recognized  many  gods  besides.  He 
defines  the  pious  man  as  one  who  knows  what  is  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  in  respect  to  the  gods,  and 
honors  the  gods  in  accordance  w^ith  the  laws.^  He 
spoke  of  the  gods  as  not  having  bodily  forms,  but 
as  manifesting  their  existence  and  power  by  their 
works.  ^Therefore  (said  he)  it  behooves  you  not  to 
^  De  Nat.  Deor.  1;  10-15.        ='Xen.  Mem.  4:  6. 


232  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

despise  the  unseen  gods,  but  estimating  tlieir  power 
from  what  is  done  by  them,  to  reverence  what  is 
divine.'^  He  manifested  his  belief  in  a  plurality  of 
gods  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Just  before  he  drank 
the  fxtal  hemlock,  he  said;  'It  is  certainly  both 
lawful  and  right  to  pray  to  the  gods  that  my  depart- 
ure may  be  happy;  therefore  I  pray,  and  so  may  it 
be.'  His  last  words  were;  'Crito!  we  owe  a  cock  to 
^sculapius.'^  Such  was  the  theological  belief  of 
the  wisest  and  best  of  the  Grecian  philosophers.  He 
believed,  indeed,  in  a  supreme  deity.  He  sometimes 
spoke  of  the  divinity  or  the  divine  thing.  But  he 
spoke  much  oftener  of  a  plurality  of  gods.  Unless 
he  was  guilty  of  falsehood  and  hypocrisy,  he  be- 
lieved in  and  prayed  to  many  of  the  imaginary  be- 
ings which  his  countrymen  worshipped  as  gods. 

Plato  also  was  a  polytheist.  He  does,  indeed, 
acknowledge  one  supreme  Deity,  whom  he  calls  the 
maker,  father,  and  architect  of  the  universe,  and  the 
cause  of  all  thiii2:s.  But  he  also  reco^-nizes  a  multi- 
tude  of  other  gods.  He  calls  the  universe  'a  blessed 
god.'  He  speaks  of  the  Creator  forming  the  chief 
idea  of  deity  from  fire,  and  distributing  it  round  the 
ichole  heavens.  He  represents  the  stars  as  eternal 
and  divine  bodies  or  animals,  and  declares  the  earth 
to  be  the  first  and  most  ancient  of  the  gods  that 
have  been  generated  within  the  universe.  His 
])olytheistic  belief  is  indicated  by  his  use  of  the 
phrases  'the  heavenly  race  of  gods,'  and  'the  visible 
and  generated  gods.'  In  one  place,  after  saying 
1  Xen.  Mem.  4:  3.     ^  phtedo,  152,  155. 


GRECIAN   THEOLOGY.  233 

that  the  generation  of  the  gods  should  be  credited  in 
accordance   with   tradition   and   the  laws,  he  states 
that   generation    as    follows : — ^  Ocean    and    Tethys 
were  the  progeny  of  Heaven  and  Earth ;  and  frony 
these  sprung  Phorcys,  Kronos,  and  Rhea,  and  many 
more  with  them;  and  from  Kronos  and  Rhea  sprung 
Zeus,  Hera,  and  all  that  we  know  are    called    their 
brethren;  together  with  others  still,  who  were  their 
progeny.     When,  therefore,  all  such  gods  as  visibly 
revolve  and  show  themselves  when  they  please  were 
generated,  the  artificer  of  the  universe  thus  addressed 
them  :  Gods  of  gods,  of  whom  I  am  the  creator  and 
father.'^     He  enjoins  that  there  shall  be  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty  five  festivals  yearly,  so  that  there 
may  be  a  sacrifice  offered  every  day  to  some  god  or 
demon.^     He  proposes   that  there  shall  be   twelve 
festivals  in  honor  of  the  twelve  gods  after  whom  the 
tribes  were  named.     He  declares  that  the  festivals 
of  the  infernal  gods  must  not  be  confounded  with 
those  of  the  celestial  gods.     He  speaks  of  the  sun 
and  moon  as  the  great  gods.^     In  the  Epinomis  he 
says,  or  is  represented  as  saying,*  that  the  things  in 
the  heavens  are  to  be  regarded  as  gods  or  as  images 
of  the  gods,  and  are  to  be  honored  pre-eminently 
above  statues;  that  the  stars  are  visible  gods,  who, 
with   a    most   acute   sight,  behold   all   things,  and 
therefore  are  the  first  in  rank  and  are  the  most  to 
be  honored.^     The  remark  of  Velleius  concern  in  cr 
Plato,  as  reported  by  Cicero,  seems  to  be  entirely 
just;    viz.   that   Plato   taught  that  the  world,  and 

^  Timjfius,  16.     2  Laws,  B.  8.     ^  B.  7.    '  Epin.  7 :  8. 
*The  genuineness  of  the  Epinomis  has  been  questioned. 
20* 


234        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

heaven,  and  the  stars,  and  earth,  and  souls,  and 
tliose  gods  whom  we  have  received  according  to  the 
oustoras  of  our  ancestors,  are  all  to  be  regarded  as 
gods.^ 

The  theological  opinions  of  Aristotle  were  similar 
to  those  of  Plato.  He  recognized  a  supreme  Being, 
whom  he  calls  an  eternal  substance.  But  he  speaks 
of  other  eternal  substances,  derived  from  the  primary 
eternal  substance  as  from  a  fountain.  He  represents 
the  heavens  and  the  stars  as  secondary  eternal  sub- 
stances, and  as  possessing  divinity.  In  confirmation 
of  this  opinion,  he  states  that  ^it  was  traditionally 
reported  from  the  earliest  times  and  by  very  ancient 
philosophers,  that  the  heavenly  bodies  are  gods,  and 
that  deity  comprehends  the  whole  system  of  nature.'^ 
He  rejected,  however,  as  fabulous,  the  tradition  that 
these  gods  subsisted  in  human  form,  or  were  in  ap- 
pearance like  some  of  the  lower  animals.  Aristotle 
certainly  did  not  believe  in  the  Grecian  mythology. 
He  rejected  the  accounts  of  gods  appearing  in  the 
forms  of  men  and  beasts.  But  he  at  least  assented 
to  the  doctrine  of  a  plurality  of  gods.  He  also  as- 
sented, like  Socrates  and  Plato,  to  some  of  the 
pantheistic  and  materialistic  ideas  which  prevailed 
among  the  Grecians  as  well  as  among  most  other 
ancient  nations.  They  both  deified  the  universe, 
tlie  heavenly  bodies,  the  earth,  and  all  kinds  of  ma- 
terial things;  and  they  materialized  the  Divine 
nature,  ascribing  to  their  gods  corporeal  forms, 
and  representing  them  as  marrying  and  begetting 
children. 

^  De  Nat.  Deor.  1:12.     ^  Metaph.  11:8. 


GRECIAN   THEOLOGY.  235 

Such  were  the  theological  opinions  of  the  Grecian 
])hilosophers.  They  groped  in  the  errors  of  polythe- 
ism, pantheism,  and  materialism.  Whatever  they 
may  have  thought  of  the  mythology  of  the  poets, 
and  the  religion  of  their  countrymen,  they  made  no 
effort  to  correct  prevailing  errors.  They  fell  in  with 
and  winked  at  the  theoloo^ical  errors  of  their  ao-e  and 
country,  or  advocated  errors  equally  absurd  and  per- 
nicious. The  declaration  of  one  of  the  interlocutors 
of  Cicero,  after  the  presentation  of  a  synopsis  of  the 
philosophical  theology  of  the  Greeks,  is  perfectly 
just:  ^Thus  far  I  have  been  exposing  the  dreams  of 
dotards,  rather  than  the  opinions  of  philosophers. 
Not  much  more  absurd  than  these  are  the  fables  of 
the  poets;  who  owe  all  their  power  to  the  sweet- 
ness of  their  language.'^  It  is,  indeed,  questionable 
whether  the  theology  of  the  philosophers  or  that  of 
the  poets  was  the  more  pernicious.  There  was  much 
in  the  theology  of  the  poets  that  was  vile  and  pollu- 
ting, but  on  the  whole  it  may  have  been  better  than 
hypocrisy  and  atheism.  The  speculations  of  the 
philosophers — for  their  theology  was  mere  specula- 
tion— was  good  just  for  one  thing,  the  destruction 
of  whatever  earnest  religious  belief  the  Grecians 
had.  They  had  nothing  of  value  to  offer  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  popular  mythology.  However  inge- 
nious and  profound  speculatists  some  of  them  were, 
their  theology  was  a  barren,  })owerless  thing.  In 
their  system,  God  was  not  represented  as  a  living, 
conscious  Agent;  nor  as  the  Creator  and  Governor 

1  De  Nat.  Deor.  1 :  16. 


236        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

of  the  world.  They  denied  or  set  aside  his  person- 
ality and  moral  attributes.  Their  divine  ^princi- 
ples/ 'essences,'  and  'substances/  their  world-gods, 
star-gods,  four-element-gods,  and  all  their  gods, 
being  impersonal  things,  mere  abstractions  in  fact, 
— could  not  be  the  objects  of  love,  fear,  or  rever- 
ence; and  could  be  worshipped  only  in  form.  The 
philosophical  theology  of  the  Greeks  could  in  most 
minds  produce  only  indifference,  formality,  scepti- 
cism, atheism.  Vile  and  polluting  as  the  popular 
and  poetic  theology  in  many  respects  was,  it  had  for 
a  time  a  deep  hold  on  the  minds  of  the  people  in 
general,  and  perhaps  was  not  so  demoralizing  as 
atheism  would  have  been,  and  hence  perhaps  did 
not  produce  as  deplorable  consequences  as  would 
have  resulted  from  the  general  prevalence  of  the 
theology  of  the  philosophers. 

4.  The  religious  worship  of  the  Greeks  consisted 
in  processions,  prayers,  the  singing  of  hymns,  offer- 
ings of  wine,  fruits  and  flowers,  and  bloody  sacri- 
fices. In  addition  to  these  modes  of  worship,  which 
have  been  almost  universally  prevalent  among  men, 
the  Greeks  practised  others  that  were  very  objection- 
able. Human  sacrifices  were  not  unknown  among 
them.  The  story  of  Iphigenia  and  Polyxena  does 
not  prove  that  human  beings  were  actually  offered 
in  sacrifice;  but  it  shows  that  the  projiriety  of  such 
sacrifices  was  at  one  time  recognized.  Themis- 
tocles,  the  Athenian  general,  was  compelled  to  offer 
up  three  Persians  as  a  sacrifice  to  Bacchus.  Her- 
odotus states  that  human  sacrifices  were  offered  in 


GRECIAN   THEOLOGY.  237 

Achaia.^  At  the  altar  of  Diana  in  Sparta,  boys 
were  lashed  until  the  blood  gushed  out;  in  some 
cases  until  they  died.  Whether  the  design  was,  as 
some  assert,  to  honor  the  goddess  by  staining  her 
altar  with  human  blood,  it  is  certain  that  this  flog- 
ging of  boys  was  practised  as  a  religious  service. 
In  Arcadia,  young  damsels  were  beaten  to  death  at 
the  altar  of  Bacchus.  Aristomanes  of  Messenia 
ofiPered  in  sacrifice  to  Jupiter  three  hundred  men, 
among  whom  was  Theopompus,  king  of  Sparta. 
The  Athenians  yearly  put  to  death  two  malefactors 
at  the  Thargelian  festival,  with  sacrificial  ceremo- 
nies. In  this  case  punishment  for  crime  was*  com- 
bined with  expiation  for  sin.  At  one  period  the 
custom  prevailed,  of  casting  every  year  a  criminal 
from  the  Leucadian  promontory,  as  a  sacrifice  to 
propitiate  Apollo.  When  Alexander  of  Macedonia 
conquered  the  Cusseans,  he  slaughtered  all  the 
adults  as  an  offering  to  the  manes  of  Hephsestion; 
whom  an  oracle  of  Jupiter  Amnion  had  directed 
him  to  revere  as  a  demi-god.  Other  instances  of 
human  sacrifices  among  the  Greeks  might  be  given. 
From  the  facts  stated  it  is  evident,  that  such  sacri- 
fices were  regarded  as  acceptable  to  the  gods.  Hu- 
manity alone  kept  them  from  becoming  commoiT. 
The  gods  themselves  were  supposed  to  be  pleased 
with  such  offerings;  but  it  was  only  in  exceptional 
cases  that  the  Greeks  were  willing  to  propitiate 
them  at  the  cost  of  human  blood.  At  one  period 
human     sacrifices     were    probably    common.      But 

^7:  197. 


238        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

during  the  historic  period,  they  were  only  local 
and  exceptional.  Their  general  disuse  was  owing 
to  the  dictates  of  humanity;  and  their  partial  con- 
tinuance to  the  influence  of  an  abominable  theology. 
The  Greeks  in  their  religious  worship  also  prac- 
tised some  things  that  were  indecent  and  vile.  Ve- 
nus, the  goddess  of  wantonness,  was  worshi])ped  in 
a  Avay  suited  to  her  character.  The  rites  performed 
in  her  honor  were  so  abominable,  that  we  must  pass 
them  over  in  silence.  Cotytto,  another  goddess  of 
wantonness,  was  honored  with  rites  equally  inde- 
cent. She  was  thought  to  be  delighted  with  noth- 
ing s»  much  as  with  lewdness  and  debaucheries. 
At  the  festivals  of  Bacchus,  called  orgies,  persons  of 
both  sexes,  with  garlands  and  comical  dresses,  ran 
hither  and  thither,  dancing  in  ridiculou?  postures, 
filling  the  air  with  hideous  noises,  and  practising 
rites  too  indecent  to  be  mentioned.  Accordino^  to 
Diogenes  Laertius,^  it  was  a  saying  of  Plato's,  that 
it  was  not  proper  to  get  drunk  except  at  the  festival 
of  Bacchus;  and  he  so  teaches  in  his  Laws}  Be- 
side prayers,  hymns,  gifts,  sacrifices,  festivals,  and 
processions,  the  Grecian  worship  consisted  in  revel- 
ings,  hootings,  bowlings,  drunkenness,  debaucheries, 
prostitutions,  and  human  sacrifices. 
^3:  26.     =^6:  18. 


CHAPTER  Yin. 

THE   ROMAN   THEOLOGY. 

The  Romans  adopted  the  theology  as  well  as  the 
literature  of  the  Greeks,  and  hence  all  the  religious 
errors  that  prevailed  among  the  latter  prevailed 
also  among  the  former.  The  Romans,  however,  in 
one  respect  erred  more  egregiously  than  those  whom 
they  imitated.  They  carried  the  polytheistic  idea 
farther  than  the  Greeks,  or  than  any  other  nation 
of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge.  They  adopted 
the  gods  of  Greece  and  of  nearly  all  other  countries, 
and  invented  a  large  number  of  their  own.  They 
had  gods  greater  and  less,  male  and  female,  select 
gods,  gods  celestial,  earthly,  and  infernal,  gods  of 
the  sea,  gods  of  rivers  and  fountains,  gods  of  the 
mountains,  gods  of  the  trees,  gods  of  the  plains, 
gods  of  the  fields,  gods  of  the  gardens,  tutelary 
gods,  and  household  gods.  They  worshipped  the 
sun,  moon,  stars,  winds,  and  tempests  as  gods. 
They  deified  kings  and  heroes.  They  deified  also 
the  virtues  and  affections  of  the  human  mind;  as 
piety,  faith,  friendship,  and  hope.  They  erected 
temples  and  offered  sacrifices  to  mere  abstractions; 
as  virtue,  victory,  safety,  and  honor.  They  deified 
even  diseases,  passions,  and  vices.  They  worshipped 
certain  gods  that  they  might  do  them  good;    and 

239 


240  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

others  that  they  might  do  them  no  harm.  They 
invented  a  god  for  every  power,  function,  attri- 
bute, quality,  relation,  habit,  affection,  operation; 
for  every  class  of  objects,  actions,  phenomena,  and 
existences.  They  had,  for  instance,  a  god  for  every 
operation  in  agriculture,  and  for  grain  and  fruits  in 
every  stage  of  growth.  Ceres  was  the  goddess  of 
grain  and  tillage.  Seia  was  the  divinity  of  seed 
under  ground;  Proserpina,  of  seed  germinating; 
Segetia,  of  crops  above  ground ;  Neodotus,  of  the 
joints  of  stalks;  Volutina,  of  leaves  in  rolls  or 
folds;  Patelana,  of  leaves  unfolded  or  opened; 
Flora,  of  crops  flowering;  Lacturnus,  of  grain  in  a 
milky  state;  Hostilia,  of  crops  earing;  Matuta,  of 
crops  maturing;  Runcina,  of  crops  taken  from  the 
earth;  Tutilina,  of  crops  stowed  away.  We  will 
not  mention  the  gods  that  were  supposed  to  super- 
intend the  generation  and  birth  of  infants.*  The 
prevalent  ideas  concerning  delicacy  make  it  im- 
proper for  us  to  do  so.  Vatlcanus  was  the  God  of 
the  first  crying  of  infants.  He  was  supposed  to 
open  their  mouths  in  crying.  Immediately  after 
the  birth  of  an  infant,  it  was  laid  on  the  ground. 
If  the  father  acknowledged  it,  he  took  it  up.  His 
refusal  to  take  it  up  was  equivalent  to  repudiation, 
and  it  was  killed  or  exposed.  Lcvana  was  the  god- 
dess of  this  taking-up  of  infants.  Rumina  was  the 
goddess  of  milk  for  infants;  Potina,  of  potions  for 
them;  Educa^  of  food;  Paventla  was  the  goddess  of 
their  fears;  Stimula  stimulated  them;  Agenoria  en- 

*The  learned  reader  will  find  a  discussion  of  these  matters 
in  Augustine's  De  Civitate  Dei,  1. 4:  1,  and  1.  7  :  2-3. 


ROMAN   THEOLOGY.  241 

abled  them  to  act;  Strenia  strengthened  them;  Nu- 
meria  taught  them  to  count;  Camoena  to  sing; 
Cunina  was  the  goddess  of  the  cradle.  Other  gods 
and  goddesses  had  charge  over  children  for  good  or 
ill.  The  goddess  Juventas  took  charge  of  the  boy  at 
the  age  of  seventeen.  Fortuna  Barbata  furnished 
him  with  a  beard.  Jugutinus,  ]omQA  him  in  mar- 
riage to  his  wife.  Domiducus  was  the  god  of  lead- 
ing home  a  wife.  Domitius  kept  her  in  the  house, 
and  Manturna  kept  her  with  her  husband.  The 
favor  and  assistance  of  other  gods  and  goddesses 
were  to  be  invoked  by  the  husband.^  The  Romans 
had  also  several  money-gods.  At  first,  when  cattle 
was  almost  the  only  medium  of  exchange,  they  had 
but  one,  Pecunia.  But  as  different  kinds  of  money 
were  introduced,  they  invented  gods  to  correspond; 
a  god  of  brass  money,  a  god  of  copper  money,  and  a 
god  of  silver  money.  They  had  a  goddess  of  vaca- 
tion or  respite  from  business,  a  god  of  grinding,  a 
god  of  sewers,  a  god  of  bad  smells,  and  two  gods  of 
manure. 

This  ridiculous  and  monstrous  god-making  was 
not  confined  to  the  illiterate  and  more  superstitious 
portion  of  the  Roman  people.  Their  poets,  priests, 
prophets,  and  law  givers  concurred  and  assisted  in 
it.  As  long  as  there  was  earnest  belief  in  the  absurd 
and  vile  system,  no  voice  was  raised  against  it.  It 
was  only  near  the  commencement  of  the  Christian 
era,  when  the  Romans  were  beginning  to  lose  faith 
in  their  religion,  that  men  like  Varro  and  Seneca 

^  De  Civitate  Dei,  6:  9. 
.   21 


242  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

disapproved  of  prevailing  errors.  Even  they  wished 
to  reform  the  existing  system,  not  to  overthrow  it. 
They  even  commended  the  theology  and  worship 
established  by  the  civil  laws,  which  recognized  the 
vast  crowd  of  gods  referred  to  above.  The  efforts 
of  Cicero,  and  authors  of  similar  views,  tended  to 
destroy  belief  in  the  prevailing  system,  and  to  pro- 
mote indifference,  formality,  and  atheism.  They 
saw  many  of  the  absurdities  and  errors  in  the  exist- 
ing religion;  but  they  could  suggest  no  remedy  but 
unbelief.  Dilapidated,  outlandish,  and  monstrous  as 
the  polytheistic  superstructure  was;  had  they  piled 
it  in  ruins,  no  graceful  edifice,  no  building  of  any 
kind,  would  have  taken  its  place.  They  had  no 
building  materials.  They  could  be  only  'architects 
of  ruin.'  The  ruin  of  the  old  system  would  certain- 
ly have  been  desirable,  could  something  better  have 
been  substituted  in  its  place.  But  that  was  impos- 
sible until  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  Pre- 
vious to  that  event,  the  choice  was  between  the 
monstrosities  of  the  polytheistic  system  on  the  one 
hand,  and  devilish  atheism  on  the  other. 

Since  the  Roman  theology  embraced  the  grossest 
polytheism,  pantheism,  and  materialism,  the  deifi- 
cation of  kings  and  heroes,  the  ascription  to  the 
gods  of  the  infirmities,  passions,  and  vices  of  men, 
and  the  making  of  gods  for  every  profession,  art, 
attribute,  habit,  affection,  quality,  relation,  and 
operation, — the  Roman  worship  could  not  but  be 
characterized  by  formality,  absurdity,  and  impurity. 
Idolatry  was  universal.     The  gods  were  supposed  to 


ROMAN   THEOLOGY.  243 

inhabit  their  images,  as  the  human  soul  the  body.^ 
We  have  noticed  the  indecency  of  some  of  the  reli- 
gious rites  of  the  Greeks.  The  Romans  in  this 
respect  went  at  least  as  far  astray.  Many  obsceni- 
ties were  practised  at  the  festivals  held  in  honor  of 
the  goddess  Cybele.  The  priests  used  indecent  ex- 
pressions, and  performed  actions  suggestive  of  im- 
purity. Great  indecencies  were  also  practised  at  the 
Lupercalia,  a  festival  celebrated  in  honor  of  Pan, 
the  shepherd  god  who  was  represented  with  the 
horns,  legs,  feet,  and  tail  of  a  goat.  At  this  festi- 
val, youths  almost  naked  ran  about  the  streets  with 
whips,  and  lashed  all  whom  they  met.  The  Flo- 
ralia,  games  in  honor  of  the  goddess  of  flowers, 
presented  a  scene  of  unbounded  licentiousness.  This 
festival  was  celebrated  by  strumpets,  who  ran  to  and 
fro  naked,  and  performed  indecent  actions.  Un- 
mentionable rites  were  performed  in  the  worship  of 
the  god  Liber.^ 

But  the  greatest  abomination  which  the  Komans 
practised  as  a  religious  rite,  was  the  offering  of  hu- 
man beings  in  sacrifice.  From  the  earliest  times, 
persons  guilty  of  certain  crimes  were  by  law,  said  to 
be  the  law  of  Romulus,  devoted  to  Pluto  and  the 
infernal  gods;  and  might  be  slain  with  impunity. 
In  later  times,  a  consul,  dictator,  or  praetor  might 
offer  himself  or  any  one  of  the  legion  as  an  expia- 
tory victim.  Accordingly  the  Decii  devoted  them- 
selves in  battle  as  sacrifices  to  obtain  the  favor  of 
the   gods;    or,    if  they  rushed    among   the   enemy 

'  De  Civitate  Dei,  8 :  23-4.     '7:  21. 


244        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

merely  to  set  an  example  of  bravery  and  patriotism, 
the  way  in  which  the  Romans  regarded  and  repre- 
sented their  conduct  and  death  sliows,  that  there  was 
a  prevalent  belief  in  the  propriety  of  human  sacri- 
fices.    Plutarch  informs  us  that  at  the  commence- 
ment of  one  of  their  wars  with  the  Gauls,  the  Ro- 
mans buried  alive,  in  the  ox-market,  two  Greeks,  (a 
man  and  a  woman),   and  also  two    Gauls.^     Livy 
states  that  they  repeated  the  sacrifice  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  Punic  war.^     Human  sacrifices 
were  prohibited  by  a  decree  of  the  senate  95  B.  C, 
in  the  657th  year  after  the  building  of  Rome.     Nor 
did  they  altogether  cease  then.     About  fifty  years 
later,  in   the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  two  men  were 
sacrificed  by  the  priests  of  Mars.     Sextus  Pompeius 
threw  men,  as  well  as  horses,  alive  into  the  sea,  as 
victims  to  Neptune.    Augustus,  after  his  victory  over 
Antony  at  Perusia,  sacrificed  four  hundred  Roman 
senators  and  knights,  or  as  some  say  three  hundred, 
as  victims  on  the  altar  of  Julius  C?esar.     It  thus  ap- 
])cars  that  human  sacrifices  were  offered  by  the  Ro- 
mans until  after  the  introduction   of  Christianity. 
Doubtless  the  shedding  of  human  blood  in  honor  of 
the  gods  was  regarded  as  an  awful  thing,  and  the 
number  of  victims  was  never  large.     But  it  appears 
that  until  near  the  commencement  of  the  Christian 
era,  when  the  faith  of  the  Romans  in  their  religion 
was  dying  out,   the  prevalent  belief  at   all    times 
among  them   was,  that  human  slaughter  was   the 
most  efficacious  means  of  gaining  the  favor  of  the 
•  In  vita  Marcelli.     ^Lib.  22:  5.7. 


ROMAN   THEOLOGY.  245 

gods.  They  adopted  it  only  as  a  last  resort,  in 
times  of  impending  danger,  and  when  great  inter- 
ests were  at  stake.  Hence,  notwithstanding  their 
infrequency,  human  sacrifices  were  a  part  of  the  re- 
ligious worship  of  the  ancient  Romans. 

The  Roman  religion  was  the  latest  and  fullest  de- 
velopment of  polytheism  prior  to  the  dissemination 
of  Christianity.     The  Romans,  indeed,  carried  the 
business  of  god-making  to  a  greater  extent  than  any 
other  nation   of  ancient  or   modern  times.     Their 
theology  was  more  debasing  and  demoralizing  than 
any  that  is  known  to  have  preceded  it.     It,  more 
than   any   other,  encouraged   beastly  passions   and 
vices,  and  a  reckless  disregard  of  human  life.     We 
will  hereafter  see  that,  under  its  influence,  Roman 
society  became  shamefully  and  shockingly  corrupt. 
Yet  amid  the  endless  multiplication  of  Roman  gods, 
and  the  consequent  debasement  of  minds  and  morals, 
the  true  God  left  himself  not  without  a  witness. 
There  are  intimations  of  an  approximation  to  mono- 
theistic  belief   among   the   Romans — references   to 
Deity  as  not  belonging  to  ^Olympus'  motley  rout' — 
as  if  there  were  an  effort  to  break  away  from  the 
polytheistic  creed,  and  return  to  the  worship  of  the 
one  God.     The  dreadful  errors  of  the  Romans  were 
in  opposition  to  a  monotheistic  principle,  instinct, 
or  longing  within  them;  as  well  as  to  the  revelation 
in  God's  works  around  them. 


2V 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ARABIC   THEOLOGY. 

The  Arabic  theology  in  its  best  form  is  contained 
in  the  Koran.    Mohammed  taught  the  unity,  person- 
ality, and  spirituality  of  God;  his  holiness,  justice, 
and  mercy;  and  the  necessity  of  pure  and  spiritual 
worship.     His  theology  is  free  from  the  monstrous 
errors   that  are  brought  to   view  in  the  preceding 
chapters.     But   this  excellence  of  the  Arabic  the- 
ology is  due  to  the  Bible.     Mohammed  believed  in 
the  supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  in  the  divine  mission  of  Jesus  Christ.     He  re- 
fers  again   and   again    to    Moses,   David,    and    the 
prophets;    and   quotes    largely  from   them.      It   is 
evident  that  whatever  is  good  in  histheology  isfrom 
the  Bible.     The  Koran  claims  to  be  only  an  addi- 
tional revelation  to  it.     Mohammedism  -  is   but  an 
imperfect  and  mutilated  Christianity.     Carlyle  says 
that  'at  the  fairs  of  Syria  Mohammed  came  in  con- 
tact with  a  quite  foreign  world — with  one  element 
of  endless  moment  to  him,  the  Christian  Religion. 
*     *     *     Islam  is  definable  as  a  confused  form  of 
Christianity;  had  Christianity  not  been,  neither  had 
it  been.^^     Hence,  the  superiority   of  the   Moham- 
medan theology  to  the  theologies  considered  in  pre- 

^  Hero-worsliip,  pp.  47,  51. 
246 


ARABIC  THEOLOGY.  247 

vious  chapters  is  but  a  proof  of  the  theological 
excellence  of  the  Bible.  Hereafter  when  we  speak 
of  the  errors  of  the  world-theologies,  we  are  not  to 
be  understood  as  including  among  them  the  the- 
ology of  the  Koran.  We  will  hereafter  show  that 
Mohammed  erred  much  more  in  morality  than  in 
theology. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ANCIENT   THEOLOGY   IN   GENERAL — 
DETERIORATION. 

In  the  theologies  that  have  been  reviewed  in  pre- 
ceding chapters,  there  are  many  traces  of  monothe- 
istic belief  and  worship.  It  seems  unquestionable, 
that  monotheism  was  the  primitive  religion  of  man- 
kind. But  there  has  been  constant  deterioration. 
Mankind  have  been  advancing  in  general  knowl- 
edge, but  until  the  dissemination  of  Christianity 
they  constantly  retrograded  in  theology.  The  con- 
stant tendency  has  been  to  abandon  monotheism ;  to 
break  up  the  Deity,  as  it  were,  into  separate  frag- 
ments ;  and  to  deify  the  different  parts  of  the 
material  creation.  Believing  in  the  Bible  account 
of  the  fall  of  man,  we  of  course  attribute  this  tend- 
ency to  the  dreadful  perversion  thereby  of  his  moral 
nature.  But  whatever  may  be  the  origin  of  this 
tendency,  its  existence  is  demonstrated  by  the  his- 
tory of  the  nations  that  existed  before  the  dissemi- 
nation of  Christianity.  Until  the  Bible  began  to 
leaven  the  world  with  its  influence,  the  nations 
went  deeper  and  deeper  into  polytheism,  pantheism, 
materialism,  nature-worsliij),  element-worship,  im- 
age-worship, man-worship,  and  beast-worship.  The 
earlier  theology  of  the  Egyptians  was  more  simple 
248 


DETERIORATION   OF   ANCIENT   THEOLOGY.      249 

and  less  erroneous  than  their  later.  They  went  on 
inventing  imaginary  gods,  dividing  and  sub-divi- 
ding Deity  into  minute  parts,  and  deifying  the 
various  parts  of  the  material  creation,  until  they 
made  gods  of  beasts,  birds,  fishes,  and  reptiles.  The 
tlieology  of  the  Vedas  is  less  confused  and  con- 
tradictory, less  absurd  and  monstrous,  than  that  of 
the  Puranas;  and  many  of  the  hideous  superstitions 
current  among  the  Hindus  of  the  present  age  are 
not  inculcated  in  the  Puranas.  The  same  progress 
in  error  is  brought  to  view  in  the  earlier  and  later 
writings  of  the  Persians.  The  Greeks  made  re- 
markable progress  in  literature  and  art,  but  their 
theology  and  worship  were  more  erroneous  and  in- 
decent in  the  time  of  Plato  than  in  the  time  of 
Homer.  The  deterioration  in  the  Koman  theology 
was  still  greater.  It  received  constant  accessions 
from  the  national  mythologies,  and  from  the  god- 
making  inventions  of  the  Romans  themselves;  until 
they  became  the  most  polytheistic,  idolatrous,  and 
morally  corrupt  nation  known  in  history. 

Not  only  did  every  one  of  these  theologies  de- 
teriorate, but  theology  in  general  deteriorated.  The 
later  theologies  in  many  respects  were  worse  than 
the  earlier.  The  Roman  and  Grecian  theoloo^ies 
and  worship  were  more  seductive  and  corrupting — 
tended  more,  through  the  deification  of  kings  and 
heroes,  and  the  assimilation  of  the  gods  to  depraved 
men,  to  inflame  beastly  passions  and  encourage 
beastly  vices — than  those  of  the  Egyptians,  Hindus, 
and  Persians;  and  the  Roman  theology  was  the 
worst  of  all. 


250        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

The  eiforts  made  to  overthrow  or  reform  these 
ancient  systems,  show  that  the  human  mind  could 
devise  no  substitute  for  the  errors  they  embraced 
but  unbelief  and  atheism.  Sakya  Muni,  in  his  re- 
volt against  Brahminism,  denied  that  there  is  a  God 
or  a  real  world;  maintained  that  the  only  real  thing 
in  existence  is  the  human  soul;  and  taught  that  the 
only  hope  for  men  is  the  total  extinction  of  their 
being.  But  Buddhism  in  its  turn  revolted  against 
this  atheistic  and  nihilistic  theory,  and  worshipped 
as  a  god  him  who  declared  there  is  no  god  and  an- 
nounced his  own  complete  annihilation.  Confucius, 
who  taught  his  countrymen  to  engage  in  religious 
service  as  a  mere  ceremony,-  and  who  really  taught 
unbelief  in  the  national  theology,  succeeded  only  in 
producing  an  atheistic  spirit;  and  has  been  and  is 
now  himself  worshipped  as  a  god  by  millions  and 
millions  of  people  who  have  no  fliith  in  the  God  of 
heaven,  and  no  belief  in  the  existence  of  spirits. 
The  Grecian  philosophers,  so  far  as  they  had  any 
religion  at  all,  were  polytheists,  pantheists,  and  ma- 
terialists. They  encouraged  disbelief  in  much  of 
the  current  mythology.  But  their  notions  about 
divine  substances y  essences  and  principles ^  and  their 
virtual  rejection  of  the  divine  personality  and  attri- 
butes, would  in  reality  leave  the  world  without  a 
God,  and  man  without  hope.  The  influence  of 
Cicero  was  no  better.  Until  made  acquainted  with 
Christianity,  the  Gentile  mind  groped  in  the  mists 
and  darkness  of  prevailing  superstitions,  or  stum- 
bled into  the  abyss  of  irreligion  and  atheism. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

HEBREW   THEOI.OGY. 

The  excellence  of  the  Bible  theology  as  contrast- 
ed with  other  theological  systems,  appears  in  several 
particulars. 

1.  The  unity  of  God.  As  we  have  shown,  all 
other  ancient  theologies  except  Buddhism— which 
was  an  atheistic  denial  of  all  theological  truth,  and 
really  not  a  theology — were  polytheistic.  But  the 
Bible  teaches  the  existence  of  the  one  living  and  true 
God.  We  believe,  indeed,  that  it  teaches  a  trinity 
of  persons  in  the  Godhead.  Sceptics  may  set  this 
doctrine  in  opposition  to  the  unity  of  God,  and  thus 
endeavor  to  prove  an  inconsistency  in  the  Bible. 
But  whatever  sceptics  may  say  in  regard  to  this 
supposed  inconsistency,  it  is  undeniable  that  the 
Scriptures  clearly  and  uniformly  teach  that  there  is 
but  one  God.  The  Hebrew  lawgivers,  historians, 
psalmists,  prophets,  apostles,  and  evangelists,  all 
assert  that  there  is  no  God  but  Jehovah.  'Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me^ — Hear,  O  Is- 
rael!  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord^— Thus  saitli 
the  Lord,  the  king  of  Israel,  and  his  Redeemer  the 
Lord  of  hosts ;  I  am  the  first  and  I  am  the  last ;  and 
beside  me  there  is  no  God.'^     This  doctrine  was  em- 

1  Ex.  20:3.     ^Deut.  6:4.     'Is.  44:6. 

251 


252  THEOLOGICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

phatically  asserted  by  Moses  in  the  Law.  It  runs 
through  the  historical  parts.  It  appears  in  the 
Psalms.  It  is  taught  in  the  Prophecies.  It  is  re- 
affirmed in  the  Gospels.  It  is  treated  as  an  indis- 
putable truth  in  the  Epistles.  It  is  prominent 
throughout  the  whole  Bible  from  Genesis  to  Eeve- 
lation. 

'  Doubtless  there  are  many  persons  in  Christian 
countries  who  do  not  consider  it  a  remarkable  fact, 
that  the  teachers  and  writers  of  the  Hebrews  assert- 
ed and  maintained  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  unity. 
Such  persons  forget  that  their  own  ideas  on  this 
subject  are  derived  from  the  Scriptures,  and  that  it 
is  entirely  owing  to  their  teachings  and  influence 
that  the  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  one  God  exists 
among  men.  Except  the  Jews  and  those  who  have 
derived  their  religion  from  them,  all  nations  have 
fallen  into  polytheism  or  atheism.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  Gentile  nations  in  general  deified  the 
heavenly  bodies,  the  natural  elements,  imaginary 
and  monstrous  beings,  departed  heroes,  beasts  and 
all  kinds  of  animals.  If  some  of  them  avoided 
these  monstrous  errors,  they  ran  into  errors  equally 
monstrous;  atheism  and  nihilism.  The  Jews  alone 
of  all  the  ancient  nations  avoided  errors  in  both  di- 
rections, and  retained  the  grand  and  fundamental 
truth — that  there  is  one  God  and  one  alone. 

2.  The  t^pirihiaUtij  of  God.  On  this  subject  also, 
the  Scriptures  are  very  explicit.  Though  they  speak 
of  God  as  having  eyes,  ears,  hands,  and  other  bodily 
parts,  yet  such  language  is  plainly  figurative.  This 
immateriality  is  asserted  in  express  terms.     *God  is 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  253 

a  Spirit/^  He  is  declared  to  be  ^tlie  invisible  God, 
whom  no  man  hath  seen  or  can  see.^  We  consider 
all  those  passages,  which  speak  of  God  ag  appearing 
to  men  in  visible  form  and  being  seen  by  corporeal 
eyes,  as  entirely  consistent  with  the  truth  that  God 
has  no  material  substance  or  form,  but  is  a  pure 
Spirit.  But  it  is  not  our  business  at  present  to  ex- 
plain any  supposed  discrepancies  between  different 
parts  of  the  Bible.  So  far  as  our  argument  is  con- 
cerned, we  may  allow  the  sceptic  to  maintain,  if  he 
chooses,  that  in  the  earlier  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment there  are  passages  which  impliedly  teach  that 
God  has  a  corporeal  and  visible  form.  Such  an  ad- 
mission would  not  affect  the  excellence  of  the  Bible 
theology.  For  in  the  later  books  the  perfect  spirit- 
uality of  God's  nature  is  most  distinctly  asserted. 
Even  in  the  book  of  Job,  which  is  at  least  among 
the  older  books  of  the  Bible,  the  invisibility  of  God 
is  a  prominent  idea.^  Isaiah  teaches  that  God  has 
no  conceivable  likeness,  and  that  he  is  not  compar- 
able to  any  known  form,  or  to  any  known  being.^ 
John  the  Baptist  declared;  ^No  man  hath  seen  God 
at  any  time.'^  Jesus,  called  the  Christ,  who,  viewed 
merely  as  a  man,  was  the  greatest  teacher  that  ever 
appeared  among  the  Jews,  reminded  them  that  they 
had  never  heard  God's  voice,  nor  seen  his  shape.^ 
If  the  infidel  deny  that  these  declarations  were 
made  by  the  persons  to  whom  they  are  attributed, 
he  must  admit  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  that  they  unmistakably  teach  that  God  is 

'  John.  4:  24.     '^  1  Tim.  6:  16.     Col.  1 :  15.    '23:  8,  9. 
*40:  18,  25.        Uohn.  1:  18.         Uohn.  5:  37. 
22 


254        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

an  immaterial,  spiritual  Being.  There  is  really  no 
countenance  given  in  the  Bible  to  the  idea  that  God 
is  a  material  substance,  has  a  corporeal  and  visible 
form,  and  is  under  the  influence  of  corporeal  appe- 
tites and  passions.  It  contains  no  such  absurdity  as 
that  the  material  creation  is  a  part  of  the  Godhead, 
or  that  the  heavens  and  the  heavenly  bodies  and  the 
natural  elements  are  the  sons  of  God.  Nowhere  in 
it  is  to  be  found  the  nonsensical  idea,  that  all  ma- 
terial things  were  spun  or  hatched  from  the  Divine 
essence;  as  tlie  web  from  the  spider,  or  the  chicken 
from  the  egg.  The  Bible  is  free  from  all  those 
speculations  and  theories  which  would  degrade  the 
Creator  from  a  pure,  almighty,  infinite  Spirit,  into  a 
piece  of  matter.  While  the  leaders  and  teachers  of 
the  nations  were  sinking  lower  and  lower  in  their 
ideas  of  God's  nature,  assimilating  Him  more  and 
more  to  a  material  substance,  and  conceiving  of  Him 
as  a  corporeal  being  with  corporeal  appetites  and 
passions, — the  leaders  and  teachers  of  the  Hebrews 
were  attaining  to  a  clearer  understanding  and  a 
more  explicit  statement  of  His  perfect  spirituality. 
This  doctrine,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Divine  unity, 
has  been  taught  by  them  to  the  rest  of  mankind. 

3.  The  persoiialUy  of  God.  The  Bible  writers  al- 
ways represent  God  as  a  distinct  personal  Being. 
They  never  identify  the  Creator  with  the  works  of 
liis  hands.  They  neither  represent  the  world  as 
God,  nor  deify  any  part  of  the  material  universe, 
any  material  substance,  or  any  created  thing.  They 
do  not  speak  of  God  as  a  substaiice,  essence,  principle^ 
or  even  as  di  first  cause.     Such  errors  as  these  abound 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  255 

in  the  writings  of  all  the  poets,  philosophers,  and 
theologians  of  the  ancient  Gentile  nations.  In  all 
the  world-theo logics,  except  the  Buddhist,  which 
was  the  negation  of  all  theology,  there  was  a  con- 
founding of  the  Creator  with  the  creation;  a  wretch- 
ed compound  of  pantheism  and  materialism;  a  de- 
gradation of  the  Deity  into  a  mere  abstraction — a 
Being  without  character  and  attributes.  But  in  the 
Hebrew  theology,  God  is  represented  as  a  personal 
Being,  an  intelligent  Agent,  the  efficient  Creator 
and  Ruler  of  the  universe.  Throughout  the  Bible, 
He  is  represented  as  knowing,  thinking,  feeling, 
loving,  and  hating.  It  thus  inculcates  a  soul-stir- 
ring belief  in  His  personality;  and  represents  Him 
'  to  men  as  an  object  of  interest,  reverence,  and  love. 
The  personality  of  God  is  another  of  the  doctrines 
which  mankind  have  learned  from  the  Bible.  There 
is  nowhere  to  be  found,  not  even  in  the  theological 
writings  of  modern  times,  a  clearer  or  more  anima- 
ting statement  of  this  fundamental  truth  than  in  the 
old  Hebrew  writers. 

4.  The  character  of  God.  The  Scriptures  repre- 
sent God  as  transcendently  great,  powerful,  merciful, 
holy,  just,  and  good;  infinite,  eternal,  and  unchange- 
able. They  ascribe  to  Him  every  admirable,  ami- 
able, and  venerable  attribute;  all  dignity,  verity, 
and  sanctity;  every  glorious  perfection.  It  is  true 
they  represent  Him  as  repenting.  But  this  repre- 
sentation is  figurative,  and  is  no  more  inconsistent 
with  the  immutability  of  God  than  is  the  ascription 
to  Him  of  eyes,  ears,  hands,  and  other  bodily 
parts,  with    His    perfect   spirituality.     Throughout 


256        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

the  Bible,  the  character  and  purposes  of  God  are 
represented  as  unchangeable:— ^  My  counsel  shall 
stand  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure^ — I  am  the 
LORD,  I  change  not^ — With  Him  is  no  variableness 
neither  shadow  of  turning.'^  It  is  denied  that  he 
repents  in  such  a  sense  as  implies  any  degree  of 
mutability: — 'And  also  the  Strength  of  Israel  will 
not  lie  or  repent;  for  He  is  not  the  son  of  man  that 
he  should  repent.'* 

The  Bible  also  represents  God  as  experiencing 
anger,  and  as  having  a  disposition  to  exercise  ven- 
geance. But  the  anger  of  God  and  his  disposition  to 
exercise  vengeance  are  the  result  of  His  holiness,  jus- 
tice, and  hatred  of  sin.  Did  He  not  experience  a 
feeling  analogous  to  anger  in  men,  in  view  of  the 
dreadful  w'ickedness  practised  on  earth,  he  could  not 
be  the  infinitely  holy  God.  The  vengeance  ascribed 
to  God  in  the  Scriptures  is,  the  infliction  of  deserved 
punishment.  Aside  from  the  Bible,  it  is  evident 
that  God  is  a  Being  of  justice;  and  that  he  inflicts 
terrible  punishments  on  the  transgressors  of  his 
laws.  He  employs  the  earthquake,  volcanic  erup- 
tions, pestilence,  fire,  and  famine  as  the  ministers 
of  his  wrath.  The  world,  wdiich  is  ruled  by  God, 
is  full  of  sickness,  pain,  death,  misery,  and  woe. 
Whoever  believes  that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven, 
who  rules  in  earth,  must  admit  that  He  is  just  such 
a  Being  as  the  Scriptures  declare. 

Nor  is  the  divine  commission  which  the  Israelites 
claimed  for  the  destruction  of  the  Canaanites  incon- 

^Is.  4G:  10.     2  Mai.  3:  6.     =»  Ja.  3:  17.     *  1  Sam.  15:  29. 


HEBREW  THEOLOGY.  257 

sistent  with  the  excellence  of  God's  character.     God 
has  again  and  again  destroyed  nations  for  their  sins 
and  crimes.     He  employs  for  this    purpose  not  only 
the  natural  elements,  but  also  the  agency  of  men. 
It  is  no  more  inconsistent  with  the  goodness  of  God 
that  He  should  employ  men  for  the  annihilation  of 
a  wicked  nation,  than  that  He  should  employ  the 
pestilence  and  the  earthquake.     The  extermination 
of  tribes  and   races   by   the  slings  and  swords  of 
Jewish   warriors,  viewed  as  a  Divine  procedure,  is 
not  different  from  God's  killing  men  with  fever  or 
cholera.     Had  *the  blue-eyed  nations  of  the  north,' 
that  ravaged  the  E^oman   empire,  been   made  con- 
scious that  they  were  accomplishing  the  purposes  of 
God,  the  havoc  and  slaughter  which  they  perpetra- 
ted would  not  have  been  changed  in  character  as 
Providential  dispensations.     The  super-naturalness 
of  the  commission  which  the  Israelites  claimed  for 
the  destruction  of  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan,  how- 
ever  incredible   it   may  seem   to   the  rationalist,  is, 
then,  not  inconsistent  with  the  excellence  of  the  Di- 
vine character  as  presented  in  the  Bible.     If  any 
such  inconsistency  is  apparent,  it  is   no   more   real 
than  the  apparent  inconsistency  between  the  dread- 
ful misfortunes  and  miseries  of  mankind,  and  the 
benevolence   of  God    as   revealed    in   creation  and 
providence.     The  Bible  represents  God  as  declaring 
his  own  character  as  follows: — ^The  Lord,  the  Lord 
God,    merciful    and    gracious,    long-suffering,    and 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth;    keeping  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and  transgression  and 
sin;   and  that   will   by  no  means  clear  the  guilty; 
22* 


258        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the  chil- 
dren unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation.'^  In 
this  grand  declaration,  both  the  goodness  and  sever- 
ity of  God  are  asserted;  just  as  they  are  revealed 
in  creation  and  providence.  God  does  punish  the 
guilty.  He  does  visit  the  sins  of  one  generation 
upon  succeeding  generations.  Often  do  the  thief, 
the  drunkard,  and  the  murderer  bring  misery  and 
ruin  upon  their  children.  Yet  God  is  good  and 
merciful,  notwithstanding  the  severity  of  his  judg- 
ments. The  character  of  God  as  proclaimed  in  the 
Bible,  corresponds  to  his  character  as  revealed  in  his 
works. 

The  Bible  not  only  asserts  the  attributes  of  God, 
but  asserts  them  with  unequaled  clearness,  fullness, 
and  eloquence.  He  is  declared  to  be  omniscient, 
omnipresent,  and  omnipotent;  terrible  in  majesty, 
glorious  in  holiness,  dreadful  in  power;  infinite  in 
justice,  mercy,  and  goodness;  eternal  and  unehange-^ 
able  in  his  nature  and  character.  To  him  is  ascribed 
every  great  and  glorious  and  amiable  quality;  every 
attribute  that  can  make  him  worthy  of  love,  rever- 
ence, admiration,  and  awe.  There  is  not  one  single 
virtue  that  is  not  comprehended  in  the  character  of 
God  as  presented  in  the  Bible.  The  world  has  not 
been  able  to  suggest  any  improvement  in  it.  Scep- 
tics cannot  point  out  any  defect  in  it.  The  utmost 
that  they  do,  is  to  endeavor  to  show  that  the  Scrip- 
tures ascribe  to  God  particular  states  of  feeling, 
and  particular  actions,  inconsistent  with  this  perfect 
^Ex.  34:  6-7. 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  259 

and  transcendent  excellence.  Such  lofty  and  glorious 
conceptions  of  God  the  great  men  of  the  Gentile  na- 
tions never  reached.  PJato,  Aristotle,  and  all  the 
ancient  philosophers  fell  far  below  this  grand  ideal. 
The  best  that  the  most  profound  theologians  can  yet 
do,  is  to  re-produce  the  conceptions  of  God's  charac- 
ter furnished  by  the  Hebrew  writers. 

5.  TJie  attributes  of  God  as  exemplified  in  the  char- 
acter of  Christ.  Jesus  is  set  forth  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  a  revelation  in  himself  of  the  character  of 
God.  He  is  represented  as  saying, — '  I  and  my 
Father  are  one^ — The  Father  dwelleth  in  me^ — He 
that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father.'^  Paul 
makes  the  declaration  concerning  Christ,  that  4n 
him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.'^ 
It  matters  not,  so  far  as  our  argument  is  concerned, 
whether  rationalists  admit  or  deny  that  Jesus  claim- 
ed to  be  an  exemplification  of  the  Divine  character. 
This  is  claimed  for  him  in  the  Bible.  And  he  is 
the  most  admirable  and  lovely  character  known 
among  men.  Such  a  combination  of  rare  qualities 
— meekness,  condescension,  love,  disinterestedness, 
self-sacrificing  aflPection,  gentleness,  forgiveness,  dig- 
nity, and  lofty  grandeur — has  never  been  exhibited 
by  any  other  man,  nor  described  by  any  but  the 
Hebrew  writers. 

*  The  best  of  men 

That  e'er  wore  earth  about  him,  was  a  sufferer; 

A  soft,  meek,  patient,  humble,  tranquil  spirit ; 

The  first  true  gentleman  that  ever  breathed.'^ 

1  John.  10:30.     n4:  9.    H4:  10.    *  Col.  2:9.     ^  Decker. 


260  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLEISCE. 

When  we  come  to  treat  of  the  moral  excellence  of 
the  Bible,  we  will  advert  to  this  subject  again,  and 
will  prove  the  perfection  of  Christ's  character  by 
the  admissions  of  infidel  writers.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  our  argument  to  assume  or  to  prove  that 
Christ  was  more  than  man.  We  may  even  allow 
the  infidel  to  maintain  if  he  chooses,  that  no  such 
person  ever  existed.  The  character  of  one  called 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  described  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  most  thorough-going  scepticism  cannot 
deny  the  reality  of  the  description.  The  character 
described,  whether  it  be  regarded  as  real  or  ideal,  is 
the  most  lovely  and  exalted  that  the  human  mind 
has  conceived.  It  is  set  forth  as  an  exemplification 
of  God's  character.  Now  it  is  by  our  knowledge 
of  love,  mercy,  holiness,  justice,  and  other  virtues 
manifested  in  men,  that  we  are  enabled  to  form  con- 
ceptions of  the  attributes  of  God;  and  the  ideal  of 
excellence  in  Christ's  character,  as  described  in  the 
New  Testament,  enables  us  to  approximate  much 
more  nearly  the  conception  of  the  perfect  and  infin- 
itely glorious  character  of  God.  The  New  Testa- 
ment writers,  in  exhibiting  the  matchless  excellence 
of  him  they  call  Jesus,  though  viewed  merely  as  a 
human  or  even  as  an  ideal  character,  have  done  more 
to  elevate  men's  conceptions  of  God,  and  to  improve 
theology,  than  all  the  philosophers  and  theologians 
of  ancient  and  modern  times.  But  the  point  to 
which  we  call  special  attention  is  this,  that  in  the 
Bible  theology,  the  lovely  and  exalted  character  of 
Christ  is  set  forth  as  a  revelation  of  the  glorious  and 
infinite  excellence  of  God. 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  261 

6.  Purity  of  worship.  In  this  respect  there  is  a 
marked  contrast  between  the  Hebrew  and  all  other 
theologies.  Neither  the  theology  of  the  Egyptians, 
Hindus,  Persians,  Chinese,  Greeks,  nor  Romans 
taught  the  true  worship  of  God — love,  reverence, 
gratitude,  humility,  penitence,  resignation,  and  an 
obedient  spirit.  The  attention  of  the  worshipper 
M^as  turned  to  outward  things.  He  was  taught  to 
depend  upon  ritual  observances  for  the  Divine  fa- 
vor. Some  of  these  observances  also  were  outland- 
ish and  indecent ;  even  horrible  and  monstrous. 
But  the  Hebrew  theoloo;v  is  in  contrast  with  all 
this.  It,  indeed,  enjoined  a  burdensome  ritual  to  be 
observed  for  a  time.  Its  Sveak  and  beggarly  ele- 
ments' were  suited  to  the  mental  and  moral  condi- 
tion of  a  people  that  were  at  first  debased  by  slavery 
and  ignorance,  and  that  never  became  highly  culti- 
vated. But  underlying  the  Old  Testament  rites  and 
ceremonies,  there  was  a  system  of  spiritual  truth 
and  religion.  Image- worship  and  idolatry  in  all 
its  forms,  were  expressly  and  positively  forbidden. 
The  worshipper  was  taught  that  mere  outward  ob- 
servances were  worthless;  and  that  a  pure  heart, 
clean  hands,  and  a  devout  spirit  were  necessary  to 
acceptance  with  God.  Along  with  ceremonial  ob- 
servances, obedience  to  the  Ten  Commandments  was 
required.  Supreme  love  to  God  was  declared  to  be 
necessary.  Every  man  was  commanded  to  love  his 
neighbor  as  himself.  The  spirituality  and  purity 
of  the  worship  which  the  Hebrew  theology  taught, 
are  set  forth  in  such  declarations  as  the  followinac : — 
*If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not 


262  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

hear  me^ — The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit; 
a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God!  thou  wilt  not 
despise^ — He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  pros- 
per; but  whoso  confesseth  and  forsaketh  them  shall 
have  mercy^ — For  I  desired  mercy  and  not  sacrifice; 
and  the  knowledge  of  God  more  than  burnt-offer- 
ings.'* These  and  similar  declarations  place  the 
Old  Testament  worship  of  the  Hebrews  far  above 
that  of  every  ancient  nation,  in  spirituality  and 
purity.  In  the  New  Testament,  the  necessity  of 
inward  devotion  is  still  more  emphatically  asserted: 
— ^God  is  a  Spirit;  and  they  that  worship  him, 
must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  truth^ — We  are  the 
circumcision,  who  worship  God  in  the  spirit/^  By 
the  reformation  set  on  foot  by  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles, the  Hebrew  worship  was  stripped  of  its  burden- 
some rites,  and  became  a  simple  system  of  pure  de- 
votion. To  the  exercises  of  prayer,  singing  of  praise, 
and  the  reading  and  preaching  of  the  word,  were  ad- 
ded Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, — the  one  repre- 
senting moral  purification;  and  the  other  reminding 
the  worshipper  of  the  founder  of  Christianity,  who 
is  set  forth  as  a  revelation  of  the  excellence  of  the 
divine  character,  and  as  an  example  for  the  imitation 
of  men. 

The  excellence,  then,  of  the  worship  enjoined  In 
the  Bible,  consists  in  its  freedom  from  all  Indecent 
and  obscene  rites,  and  from  all  rigorous  and  burden- 
some services;  in  Its  denunciation  of  idolatry,  and 
of  all  symbolical  representations  of  the  Deity;  In  Its 

^Ps.  66:  18.        'Ps.  51:  16-17.        'Prov.  28:  13. 
*Hos.  6:  6.         ^John.  4:  24.  «Phil.  3:  3. 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  263 

rejection  of  human  sacrifices,  and  its  denunciation 
of  the  penalty  of  death  against  those  who  offered 
them ;  in  its  demanding  inward  devotion  rather 
than  outward  observances;  in  its  requiring  the  wor- 
shipper to  forsake  his  sins,  and  to  cleanse  his  hands, 
as  a  condition  of  acceptance;  and  in  its  requiring 
justice,  mercy,  love,  and  forgiveness  toward  men,  as 
accompaniments  of  the  worshipful  feelings  of  love, 
reverence,  gratitude,  humility,  resignation,  and  ado- 
ration towards  God.  The  only  pure  worship  offered 
to  the  God  of  heaven  has  been  by  the  Hebrews,  or 
by  those  who  have  adopted  their  religion. 

7.  Another  peculiar  excellence  of  the  Bible  the- 
ology, consists  in  the  comprehensiveness  and  depth  of 
its  teachings.  Many  of  its  simple  statements  have 
profound  meaning; — 'And  God  said,  i  AM  that  i 
AM;  and  he  said.  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  i  am  hath  sent  me  unto  you^ — God 
is  a  Spirit^ — God  is  love^ — God  is  light^ — God  is  a 
consuming  fire/^  These  brief  declarations  contain 
more  true  theology  than  all  the  writings  of  the  Gen- 
tile authors  together.  There  is  more  truth  concern- 
ing the  nature  and  attributes  of  God  contained  in 
these  declarations,  than  could  be  condensed  from  the 
works  of  Plato,  Aristotle,  Cicero,  and  all  the  gifted 
authors  of  the  ancient  heathen.  They  not  only  pre- 
sent the  most  important  theological  truth,  but  they 
also  present  it  in  such  a  way  as  is  best  fitted  to 
arouse  attention  and  make  an  impression.  They 
contain  no  philosophy  lialsely  so  called,  no  ingenious 

'  Ex.  3:  14.        2  John  4:  24.        '  1  John  4:  8. 
*1:  5.  *Heb.  12:  29, 


264  TflEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

speculations,  no  disquisitions  about  an  eternal  sub- 
stance, a  first  principle,  or  a  first  cause.  But  they 
represent  God  as  a  conscious  Being,  an  almighty 
Agent,  the  Author  of  all  life  and  light;  and  point 
out  those  attributes  that  entitle  Him  to  our  rever- 
ence, love,  and  obedience. 

8.  The  progressive  improvement  of  the  Hebrew  theol- 
ogy. We  have  adverted  to  the  fact  that  all  other 
theologies  deteriorated — that,  through  speculations, 
poetic  inventions,  fables,  legends,  and  the  adoption 
of  foreign  gods,  they  became  more  and  more  con- 
fused and  contradictory;  more  and  more  erroneous 
and  corrupt;  less  and  less  worthy  of  the  respect  and 
regard  of  rational  beings.  But  there  was  a  progres- 
sive improvement  of  theology  among  the  Hebrews. 
Their  later  books  contain  clearer  and  fuller  views 
of  God's  character  and  worship  than  their  earlier. 

This  advancement,  according  to  their  own  histori- 
ans, was  often  in  opposition  to  the  views  and  incli- 
nations of  the  people  at  large.  It  appears,  indeed, 
that  the  religion  of  the  primitive  Hebrews  was 
polytheistic  and  idolatrous;^  and  that,  though  they 
were  persuaded  to  abandon. polytheism  and  idolatry, 
the  nation  relapsed  into  these  errors  again  and  again. 
According  to  the  testimony  of  the  Hebrew  writers, 
there  was  an  almost  constant  contest  between  the 
people  and  their  religious  teachers  in  regard  to 
polytheism  and  idolatry.  Jehovah's  prophets  were 
often  ])ersecuted,  and  some  of  them  were  killed. 
Nevertheless   the   monotheistic   belief  and   worship 

^  Josh.  24:  2,14. 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  265 

triumphed.  Notwithstanding  the  defections  and  op- 
position of  the  people  and  their  rulers,  the  monothe- 
istic teachers  denounced  idolatry,  and  continued  to 
make  fuller  and  clearer  statements  of  theological 
truth.  They  reproved  hypocrisy,  formality,  and 
mere  outward  show  in  religion ;  and  urged  the  ne- 
cessity of  moral  purity  and  spiritual  devotion.  It 
was  under  these  circumstances  that  the  theology  of 
the  Hebrews  was  expanded  and  improved.  Finally, 
by  the  reformation  effected  by  Jesus  and  his  apostles 
amid  deadly  persecutions,  it  became  so  excellent  and 
perfect  that  no  subsequenji  improvement  has  been 
made  to  it  during  eighteen  hundred  years  of  investi- 
gation and  progress.  In  all  history,  there  is  not  a 
similar  example.  AVith  the  exception  of  the  He- 
brews, all  the  nations  continued  to  sink  lower  and 
lower  in  their  theological  ideas  and  religious  wor- 
ship; and  in  every  case  their  leadt*rs  and  teachers 
urged  on  the  retrograde  movement,  or  at  least  made 
no  earnest  opposition  to  it.  This  progressive  im- 
provement in  theology  among  the  Hebrews  is,  then, 
very  remarkable.  Among  other  nations  it  deteri- 
orated, but  among  them  it  improved;  improved, 
too,  in  spite  of  the  frequent  opposition  of  a  majority 
of  the  people. 

9.  The  peculiar  and  mysterious  doctrines  of  the 
Bible  theology — the  Trinity,  Incarnation,  and  A- 
tonement — add  to  its  excellence.  These  doctrines 
are  certainly  not  incredible  in  the  proper  sense  of 
that  word.  For  they  have  been  believed  by  a  ma- 
jority of  learned  men  and  intelligent  people  during 
eighteen  centuries.  These  doctrines  are,  therefore, 
23 


266  THEOLOGICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

not  properly  incredibley  i.  e.  incapable  of  being  be- 
lieved.    They  are,  however,  mysterious.     But  a  the- 
ology  which  embraces   no    mysteries,  nothing    but 
what  is  fully  comprehensible,  must  be  very  super- 
ficial and  barren.     For  God  is  incomprehensible,  i. 
e,  not  fully  comprehensible  by  finite  minds.     There 
are  depths  in  his  nature  which  men  cannot  fathom. 
There  are  mysteries  in  his  creative  and  providential 
works.     Vegetation,  generation,    combustion,    elec- 
tricity, the  circulation  of  blood  in  animals,  the  union 
of  soul  and  body  in  human  beings,  the  soul  itself, 
life,  death — all  are  mystej^jous.     There  are  mysteries 
within  us  and  all  around  us.     God,  too,  is  a  myste- 
rious being;  and  true  theology,  a  system  which  tells 
us  much  about  God,  must  embrace  many  mysterious 
truths.     Since  the  most  familiar  things  around  us 
are    in   some  respects   mysterious;    since   man  is  a 
mystery  to  himself;  is  it  not  unreasonable  to  reject 
a  theological  doctrine  merely  on  the  ground  that  it 
contains  a  mystery?     Since  in  man  there  is  an  in- 
comprehensible  union    of   two   natures — body  and 
spirit — in  one  person,  is  it  not  possible  that  in  God 
there  is  an  incomprehensible  subsistence  of  two  or 
three  persons  in  one  nature  or  essence?     And  does 
not  the  same  incomprehensible  union  of  two  natures 
in   the  person   of  every   human   being  suggest  the 
possibility  of  the  incarnation — the  incomprehensible 
union  of  the  Divine  and  human  natures  in  the  per- 
son of  Christ?     Since  the  death  of  a  human  being, 
though  a  familiar  fact,  is  an  insoluble  mystery,  why 
object  to  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  brought  to 
view  in  the  Bible,  on  the  ground  of  its  strangeness 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  267 

and  incomprehensibility?  Nay,  the  very  mysteries 
embraced  in  the  Bible  theology  are  neither  unnatu- 
ral (though  above  nature)  nor  monstrous,  but  are  in 
keeping  with  the  infinity  and  incomprehensibility 
of  God. 

The  peculiar  and  mysterious  doctrines  of  the  He- 
brew theology  are  seen  to  be  excellent  also  in  this 
respect,  that  they  powerfully  illustrate  and  commend 
God's  moral  attributes.  Among  these  mysterious 
doctrines,  the  primary  and  central  one  is  that  of  the 
Atonement — the  sufferings  and  death  of  the  Son  of 
God  to  expiate  the  sins  of  men.  It  is  declared  that 
he  became  incarnate  for  the  suffering  of  death.  If 
there  be  not  more  than  one  person  in  the  Godhead, 
the  Incarnation  was  impossible,  and  the  death  of 
Jesus  was  but  the  death  of  a  mere  man.  Now,  the 
vicarious  sufferings  of  Christ,  which  are  the  great 
and  central  fact  in  the  theological  system  of  the 
Bible,  are  adduced  as  a  proof  and  illustration  of  the 
excellence  of  the  divine  character.  Christ's  work  of 
redemption,  and  especially  his  dying  as  a  substitute 
in  the  room  of  sinners,  is  declared  to  be  a  manifesta- 
tion of  God's  tender  love  and  concern  for  errintj  men : 
— *God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son^ — But  God  comraendeth  his  love  toward 
us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died 
for  us.'^  The  Scriptures  also  teach,  that  the  Atone- 
ment is  a  remarkable  and  striking  Exhibition  of  God's 
mercy,  justice,  hatred  of  sin,  and  readiness  to  pardon 
it — that  God's  love  and  mercy  determined  Him  to 
pardon  sin  and  save  sinners,  even  through  his  be- 

•John  3:  16.  '^  Rom.  5:  8. 


268        THEOLOGICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

loved  Son's  agony  and  death — and  that  his  justice, 
hatred  of  sin,  and  regard  for  the  majesty  and  holi- 
ness of  moral  law,  led  him  not  to  spare  his  own  Son 
but  to  deliver  him  up  for  us  all.  Thus  the  blood 
and  agony  of  Calvary  illustrate  the  glorious  charac- 
ter of  God.  His  moral  attributes,  in  their  harmony 
and  perfection,  are  reflected  in  the  light  that  streams 
from  the  Cross.  We  enter  into  no  discussion  in  re- 
gard to  the  Atonement  itself,  nor  in  regard  to  any 
of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  There  is  no 
intimation  of  these  doctrines  given  in  creation  and 
providence,  and  our  acceptance  of  them  as  true  and 
excellent  depends  on  our  belief  in  the  Bible  as  a  di- 
vine revelation.  But  the  question  in  regard  to  the 
correctness  and  excellence  of  these  doctrines  them- 
selves being  left  out  of  view,  they  add  to  the  excel- 
lence of  the  Hebrew  theology,  inasmuch  as  they 
illustrate  God's  love,  mercy,  holiness,  and  other  at- 
tributes, which  constitute  the  moral  excellence  of  his 
character. 

10.  The  transcendent  excellence  of  the  theology  of 
the  Bible,  then,  is  seen  in  the  following  particulars: 
it  teaches  the  unity  of  God ;  the  spirituality  of  his 
nature;  his  distinct  personality;  his  great,  glorious, 
benevolent,  merciful,  holy,  just,  and  unchangeable 
character;  his  majesty,  omnipotence,  omniscience, 
omnipresence,  and  all  his  adorable  and  awful  as 
well  as  amiable  perfections.  It  sets  forth  the  lovely 
and  complete  character  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  an 
exhibition  of  the  moral  attributes  of  God;  and  thus 
elevates  our  ideas  of  Him,  by  enabling  us  to  ap- 
proximate the  conception  of  infinite  perfection.     It 


HEBREW   THEOLOGY.  269 

teaches  the  comparative  worthlessness  of  outward 
forms  and  ceremonies,  and  forbids  all  indecent  and 
impure  rites;  it  asserts  the  nature  and  value  of  true 
worship,  and  demands  the  sincere,  inward  devotion 
of  the  soul;  it  teaches  that  all  religious  services  are 
vain,  unless  accompanied  with  justice,  mercy,  benev- 
olence, forgiveness,  and  a  pure  life.  Its  simplest 
declarations  contain  deep  and  far-reaching  theologi- 
cal truths,  which  the  genius,  wisdom,  and  philosophy 
of  the  world  never  conceiv^ed,  and  which  are  not  yet 
fully  understood;  by  these  simple  declarations,  it 
has  made  the  common  property  of  enlightened  peo- 
ple conceptions  and  ideas  of  God,  that  were  unknown 
until  the  dissemination  of  Christianity  among  the 
nations.  Even  its  peculiar  and  mysterious  doctrines, 
which  are  above  reason — though  not  known  to  be 
contrary  to  reason — and  which  must  be  received,  if 
received  at  all,  on  the  authority  of  supernatural 
revelation,  serve  to  give  larger  views  of  God's  moral 
perfections.  The  best  theology  known  among  men, 
and  the  only  theology  which  enlightened  people 
believe,  is  the  theology  of  the  Bible.  Some  objec- 
tors carp  at  it,  but  do  not  presume  to  furnish  a 
better.  Its  excellence  is  generally  admitted  even 
by  those  who  deny  the  supernatural  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures.  The  majority  of  skeptics  agree  sub- 
stantially with  Renan,  who  says;  ^The  Semitic  race, 
guided  by  its  firm  and  sure  sight,  instantly  unmask- 
ed Divinity;  and,  without  reflection  or  reasoning, 
attained  the  purest  form  of  religion  that  humanity 
has  known. '^ 

^Studies  of  Religious  His.  and  Crit.  p.  115. 
23* 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  presented,  the  question 
may  be  asked,  how  came  the  secluded  and  half-en- 
lightened Hebrews  to  possess  so  pure,  exalted,  and 
ennobling  conceptions  of  God's  nature,  character, 
and  worship?  Whence  was  it  that  they  had  the 
purest  and  best  religion  known  to  humanity;  the 
only  religion  which  an  enlightened  man  can  adopt? 
Why  did  they  not,  like  other  nations,  sink  lower 
and  lower  in  their  theological  ideas,  until  they  wor- 
shipped the  heavenly  bodies  and  the  natural  ele- 
ments; birds,  beasts,  and  creeping  things;  imagin- 
ary beings,  departed  heroes,  and  fabulous  monsters? 
How  came  it  to  pass  that,  unlike  all  other  nations, 
they  rose  higher  and  higher  in  their  theological 
ideas;  until,  by  the  reformation  of  Jesus  and  his 
apostles,  their  religion  became  so  pure  and  perfect, 
that  the  wisdom,  learning,  philosophy,  and  genius 
of  the  world,  during  eighteen  hundred  years,  have 
failed  to  suggest  any  improvement?  While  other 
nations,  with  the  encouragement  or  consent  of  their 
greatest  and  best  men,  were  falling  into  polythe- 
ism, pantheism,  materialism,  idolatry,  nature-wor- 
ship, man-worship,  beast- worship,  and  the  practice 
of  unclean  rites;  or  into  hypocritical  formality,  skep- 
270 


CONCLUDING   REMARKS.  271 

ticisra,  and  atheism;  and  while  the  Hebrew  people 
were  imitating  them; — whence  was  it  that  the  He- 
brew poets,  prophets,  apostles,  and  evangelists  re- 
sisted the  defection,  carried  on  an  almost  uninter- 
rupted contest  with  their  countrymen,  encountered 
persecution,  danger,  and  death,  and  continued  to 
make  fuller"and  clearer  declarations  concerning  the 
character  of  God  and  the  purity  of  his  worship? 
How  is  the  fact  to  be  accounted  for,  that  thouirh  the 
Jewish  people  again  and  again  fell  into  polytheism 
and  idolatry,  into  the  practice  of  indecent  rites  and 
other  errors  common  among  mankind, — there  is  not 
to  be  found  in  the  whole  Bible,  embracing  the  writ- 
ings of  about  fifty  Jewish  authors  who  lived  at  dif- 
ferent periods  and  in  various  countries,  a  single  word 
favorable  to  such  errors?  And  how  is  that  other  fact 
to  be  accounted  for,  that  this  noblest  theology — this 
purest  religion  known  to  humanity — is  embodied  in 
psalms  and  prophecies  and  epistles  and  histories,  the 
sweetest,  most  beautiful,  most  eloquent,  and  most 
sublime  that  the  world  possesses?  Has  the  Hebrew 
intellect — not  very  highly  cultivated  and  somewhat 
narrow  and  bigoted — originated  by  its  own  unaided 
powers  both  the  sublimest  theology  and  the  sub- 
limest  literature? 

There  are,  however,  other  excellences  of  the  Bible 
to  be  presented  as  evidence  of  its  supernatural  ori- 
gin. 


PART  III. 

THE  MORAL  EXCELLENCE 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 


F^RT  III. 

THE  MORAL  EXCELLENCE 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE    DISTINGUISHING    PECULIAEITIES    OF   THE 
BIBLE   MORALITY. 

The  Bible  morality  has,  of  course,  some  things  in 
common  with  many  other  systems.  In  some  re- 
spects, however,  it  is  superior  to  every  other  system 
known  among  men.  Its  general  excellencies  it  is 
now  our  business  to  consider. 

1.  Its  underlying  ideas  and  principles.  Every  moral 
system  is  founded  on  some  ideas  or  principles  wdiich 
give  tone  and  character  to  it,  and  from  which  it  de- 
rives its  authority  and  sanctions.  Every  Gentile 
system  of  morality  w^as  founded  on,  and  derived  its 
authority  and  sanctions  from  a  false  theology.  How 
low  and  defective  must  have  been  the  ideas  concern- 
ing moral  law  and  obligation  held  by  those,  who 
daily  worshipped  bulls  and  crocodiles,  or  imaginary 
beings  male  and  female  with  the  worst  human  pas- 
sions, or  departed  heroes  famous  for  brutal  courage 
and  bloody  achievements;  or  who  believed  God  to 
be  a  mere  substance  or  principle;  or  who,  like  the 
primitive  Buddhists,  denied  the  existence  of  God 

275 


276  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

altogether!  "Those  whose  theological  ideas  were  so 
erroneous  and  absurd,  could  not  but  have  low  and 
defective  ideas  of  moral  truth  and  duty.  But  the 
morality  of  the  Hebrews  sprung  from  grand  theo- 
logical ideas,  and  had  the  highest  authority  and 
sanctions.  They  were  taught  that  there  is  but  one 
God,  the  universal  Sovereign,  who  is  transcendent  in 
glory,  dreadful  in  holiness,  infinite  in  goodness,  om- 
niscient, omnipotent,  and  omnipresent;  eternal  and 
unchangeable.  This  great  and  glorious  Person  was 
to  them  the  source  of  all  law,  authority,  and  obliga- 
tion. They  were  also  taught  that  the  soul  is  im- 
mortal; that  there  is  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments;  that  all  men  are  accountable  to  God 
and  will  finally  be  judged  by  Him;  that  He  is  the 
Creator  and  Father  of  all  men;  and  that  all  men  are 
on  an  equality  before  Him.  These  doctrines  gave 
strength  and  character  to  their  moral  ideas.  The 
excellence  at  which  they  were  taught  to  aim  was  the 
perfection  of  Him  who  combines  in  Himself  every 
thing  great,  glorious,  and  good.  The  authority  of 
their  moral  code  was  expressed  in  the  words — Thiis 
saith  the  Lord,  The  reward  promised  for  obedience 
was  the  favor  of  God,  a  glorious  resurrection,  ac- 
quittal in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  the  everlasting 
glories  and  joys  of  heaven.  The  penalty  threatened 
for  disobedience  was  the  displeasure  of  God,  a  resur- 
rection of  shame  and  contempt,  condemnation  in  the 
final  judgment,  and  the  miseries  of  eternal  damna- 
tion. The  morality  which  sprung  from  such  ideas 
of  God's  sovereignty  and  of  his  good,  great,  glori- 
ous, and  paternal  character;  and  of  men's  relations 


DISTINGUISHING   PECULIARITIES.  277 

to  Him  and  to  one  another;  and  which  was  armed 
with  so  great  authority  and  so  powerful  sanctions; 
could  not  but  be  good,  grand,  and  ennobling. 

2.  The  Bible  morality  is  more  excellent  also  in 
this  respect,  that  it  deals  with  the  inward  affections y 
motives,  and  purposes,  rather  than  the  outward  ac- 
tions. It  seeks  to  infuse  good  principles  into  the 
heart,  rather  than  to  govern  men  by  minute  rules. 
Moralists  in  general  discuss  outward  actions,  partic- 
ular states  of  mind,  and  mere  abstractions.  Very 
different  is  the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  writers.  Except 
in  the  Levitical  law,  which  was  designed  for  the 
Jews  alone  and  was  of  temporary  obligation,  they 
lay  down  no  minute  rules.  Their  system  of  moral- 
ity is  characterized  by  broad,  high,  far-reaching 
principles,  and  by  the  inculcation  of  affections,  the 
fruit  of  which  is  cheerful  outward  obedience.  When 
a  lawyer  made  trial  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  by  asking 
him  which  command  is  the  greatest,  the  reply  was, 
— ^Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind : 
This  is  the  first  and  great  commandment.  And 
the  second  is  like  unto  it.  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these  two  commandments 
hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets.'^  It  matters  not 
whether  the  infidel  admits  that  Jesus  spoke  these 
words  or  not.  He  must  admit  that  they  are  con- 
tained in  the  Scriptures,  and  form  a  part  of  their 
moral  system.  These  few  words  present  principles 
which  reach  to  the  bottom  and  to  the  top  of  human 

1  Mat.  22:  36-40. 
24 


278  MOPwAL    EXCELLENCE. 

obligation;  principles  which  underlie  and  include 
all  the  duties  which  men  owe  to  God  and  to  one 
another;  principles  which,  if  implanted  and  fully 
developed  in  the  hearts  of  men  and  fully  obeyed  in 
the  outward  life,  would  lead  to  the  practice  of  every 
virtue,  and  prevent  the  commission  of  every  sin. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  two  great  com- 
mandments, on  which  all  that  is  written  in  the  law 
and  the  prophets  is  declared  to  depend,  and  which 
include  all  duty  and  all  morals,  are  taken  from  the 
Old  Testament,  and  are  contained  in  the  code  first 
given  to  the  Jews.  This  peculiarity  of  the  moral 
teaching  of  the  Hebrews — this  dealing  with  princi- 
ples rather  than  rules — this  seeking  to  infuse  right 
affections  and  inclinations — and  this  aiming  to  con- 
trol men  by  conscience  and  purified  feelings  rather 
than  by  minute  prescriptions  and  mechanical  rules, — 
begins  to  appear  in  the  Law,  is  more  fully  developed 
in  the  Psalms  and  Prophecies,  and  is  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  New  Testament.  This  peculiarity 
places  the  Bible  morality  above  every  other  known 
among  men. 

8.  The  excellence  of  the  Bible  morality  is  farther 
seen  in  the  comprchciisiveness  and  brevity  of  its  state- 
ments. The  Decalogue  is  a  wonderful  summary  of 
moral  duties — of  the  duties  men  owe  to  God  and  to 
one  another.  For  simplicity  and  completeness,  for 
brevity  and  compreiiensiveness,  it  surpasses  every 
thing  to  be  found  outside  of  the  Bible.  Every 
command  enjoins  some  important  duty  and  impli- 
edly forbids  every  opposite  sin,  or  forbids  some 
great  sin  and  impliedly  enjoins  every  opposite  duty. 


DISTINGUISHING    PF.CULIARITIES.  279 

Every  duty  expressly  enjoined  is  the  representative 
of  a  whole  class  of  duties;  and  every  sin  expressly 
forbidden  represents  a  whole  class  of  sins.  The  ex- 
press injunction  of  a  particular  duty  impliedly  in- 
cludes every  thing  necessary  or  helpful  to  its  per- 
formance. The  express  prohibition  of  a  particular 
Bin  impliedly  includes  every  thing  that  leads  or 
tends  to  the  commission  of  it.  The  beauty  and  ex- 
cellence of  the  Decalogue  consist  in  this,  that  in  a 
very  small  space  it  enjoins,  expressly  or  impliedly, 
all  the  duties  that  men  owe  to  God  and  to  one 
another;  and  expressly  or  impliedly  forbids  all  the 
sins  a  man  can  commit.  For  sententious  brevity 
and  far-reaching  comprehensiveness,  there  is  no  par- 
allel to  it  in  the  whole  domain  of  human  learning. 
All  the  wit,  wisdom,  genius,  and  philosophy  of  the 
world,  have  failed  to  produce  anything  equal  to  it. 
No  improvement  on  it  has  ever  been  made  or  even 
suggested.  Even  the  opponents  of  its  super-human 
origin  tacitly  admit  its  perfection. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  also  a  noble  example 
of  brevity  and  comprehensiveness.  It  contains  all 
morals.  It  enunciates  ideas  and  principles  which 
include  all  our  duties  to  God  and  to  one  another. 
Only  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God.  Only  those 
who  have  a  forgiving  spirit,  can  obtain  forgiveness. 
If  we  injure  our  fellow  men  and  live  at  enmity 
with  them,  God  will  not  accept  our  services.  Be- 
fore offering  our  gifts  at  the  altar,  we  must  go  to  our 
injfured  brother  and  be  restored  to  his  friendship  and 
favor.  All  ostentation  in  the  performance  of  duty 
is  to   be  avoided.     Sincere,  brief,  secret  prayer   is 


280  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

very  acceptable.  Men  should  trust  in  God,  who 
feeds  the  birds,  arrays  the  lilies  in  their  beauty,  and 
clothes  the  fields  with  grass.  Uucleanness  is  not  so 
much  in  the  outward  act,  as  in  the  heart,  its  thoughts 
and  desires.  Whoever  uses  abusive,  provoking  lan- 
guage, or  is  angry  without  a  cause,  has  the  seeds  of 
murder  within  him.  Not  the  rich,  not  the  power- 
ful, not  the  successful  are  blessed;  but  the  meek, 
the  merciful,  the  poor  in  spirit,  the  pure  in  heart, 
the  peacemakers,  those  who  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  and  those  who  are  persecuted  and  re- 
viled for  the  sake  of  truth  and  of  God.  Such  are 
some  of  the  precious  gems  that  abound  in  this  rich 
mine  of  moral  truth.  From  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  as  from  an  exhaustless  fountain,  there  flow 
out  living  streams  to  purify  and  ennoble  the  souls 
of  men.  It  comprizes  within  a  few  pages  more  of 
enlightening  and  purifying  truth  than  can  be  found 
in  all  the  writings  of  all  the  moralists  and  philoso- 
phers of  ancient  times.  This  brevity  and  compre- 
hensiveness, beauty,  and  power  of  statement,  are  not 
confined  to  the  discourses  of  Christ.  They  charac- 
terize the  Psalms,  Prophecies,  Gospels,  and  Epistles. 
Had  such  a  passage  as  Rom.  xii.  9-21,  or  1  Thess. 
V.  14-28,  been  found  in  the  writings  of  Plato,  Aris- 
totle, Cicero,  or  any  of  the  world's  moralists  or 
philosophers, — it  would  have  been  an  oasis  in  the 
desert,  a  gem  among  heaps  of  base  metals  and  dirt. 

The  excellence  of  the  Bible  morality  is  seen,  then, 
in  the  following  particulars:  its  underlying  principles 
are  of  the  deepest  significance,  and  arm  it  with  the 
highest  authority  and  the  most  powerful  sanctions; 


DISTINGUISHING   PECULIARITIES.  281 

it  deals  with  the  heart,  conscience,  feelings,  and 
motives  rather  than  the  outward  actions,  and  seeks 
to  govern  men  through  purified  affections  rather 
than  by  prescriptions  and  enactments;  and,  its  prin- 
ciples and  precepts  are  stated  with  remarkable  brev- 
ity and  comprehensiveness. 


24* 


CHAPTER  11. 

OBJECTIONS   ANSWERED. 

The  transcendent  excellence  of  the  Bible  moral- 
ity is  generally  admitted,  as  we  will  hereafter  show; 
yet  objections  are  sometimes  made  to  it. 

1.  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  Bible  counte- 
nances impurity,  by  the  indelicacy  and  even  obscen- 
ity of  some  of  its  allusions  and  statements.  Voltaire 
in  his  so-called  PI ulosophical  Dictionary  ^\\q?^  several 
quotations  from  the  prophet  Ezekiel  and  also  from 
the  most  obscene  piece  of  the  Roman  poet  Horace, 
and  then  remarks,  that  Hhe  words  of  Horace  and 
other  elegant  writers  appear  to  us  still  more  in- 
decent than  Ezekiel's  expressions.'^  The  artful  ob- 
jector thus  contrives,  by  a  seeming  apology  for  the 
Hebrew  prophet,  to  place  him  in  the  same  category 
with  the  lascivious  heathen  poet. 

That  there  are  some  things  in  the  Bible  that  ap- 
pear highly  indelicate  to  the  enlightened  people  ot' 
this  age,  is  true.  But  the  standard  of  delicacy  is 
very  arbitrary,  and  is  constantly  changing.  Many 
things  that  are  delicate  and  becoming  in  one  ago, 
become  indecent  in  another.  Ideas  that  are  suf- 
ficiently chaste  when  expressed  in  certain  words — 
as,  for  instance,  generation,  birth,  and  conjugal  in- 

^  Art.  Ezekiel. 
282 


OBJECTIONS   ANSWERED.  283 

fidelity — are  intolerable  when  expressed  in  words 
almost  synonymous.  In  physiological  works,  which 
the  most  refined  may  read,  subjects  are  treated  ex- 
tensively and  minutely,  which  when  alluded  to  in 
the  Bible,  are  regarded  by  cavilers  as  unfavorable  to 
moral  purity.  Even  Voltaire,  in  his  article  on  Eze- 
kiel  referred  to  above,  stultifies  himself,  by  speaking 
in  the  most  vulgar  way  of  what  he  declares  unfit  to 
be  mentioned.  The  most  refined  women  hear  from 
their  medical  advisers  what  under  other  circum- 
stances would  be  highly  offensive. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Bible  speaks  of  things 
considered  indelicate  in  this  artificial  age,  constitutes 
one  of  its  moral  excellences.  It  calls  things  by  their 
right  names.  If  mankind  would  speak  as  the  Bible 
does,  sin  would  be  stripped  of  many  of  its  attractions. 
It  is  one  of  the  excellent  peculiarities  of  the  Bible, 
and  one  which  makes  it  powerful  for  good,  that  it 
exhibits  vice  in  all  its  deformity  and  hatefulness. 
The  squeamishness  of  modern  delicacy  is  not  evi- 
dence of  superior  virtue,  but  of  a  corrupt  state  of 
society.  The  plain  bluntness  of  the  Bible  does  not 
render  it  acceptable  to  the  licentious  and  impure. 
The  debauchee  does  not  gloat  over  its  pages.  Wan- 
ton females  do  not  titter  over  its  so-called  indeli- 
cate allusions.  The  pimp  does  not  carry  round  the 
Scriptures  in  yellow-backed  covers  to  arouse  the 
passions  of  ^young  men  void  of  understanding,^  and 
entice  them  to  'the  house  of  the  strange  woman 
whose  lips  drop  as  a  honey-comb.^  No;  such  per- 
sons dislike  the  Bible.  It  declares  to  them  the 
baseness  of  their  character  and  conduct,  and  inter- 


284  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

feres  with  their  success.  The  very  plainness  of  the 
Scriptures  (or,  if  the  infidel  will  have  it  so,  their 
coarseness  and  indelicacy,)  make  them  more  hated 
by  those  who  pursue  the  ways  of  vice  than  any 
other  book,  and  constitute  them  a  safe-guard  of 
chastity  and  virtue. 

2.  It  has  also  been  asserted,  that  there  are  some 
things  in  the  Bible  which  tend  to  encourage  injus- 
tice and  cruelty, — such  as  the  alleged  command  of 
God  to  the  Israelites  to  exterminate  the  nations  of 
Canaan,  and  the  direction  to  punish  with  death  the 
man  who  gathered  sticks  on  the  Sabbath.  These 
things  do,  indeed,  appear  to  us  harsh,  and  even 
cruel.  But  if  we  therefore  conclude  that  the  moral- 
ity of  the  Bible  is  imperfect,  we  must,  in  order  to  be 
consistent,  conclude  that  moral  perfection  does  not 
characterize  the  works  and  providence  of  God.  His- 
tory and  observation  show  that  God  often  does  what 
in  men  would  be  cruel  and  wicked.  The  permission 
by  God  of  physical  and  moral  evil  is  seemingly  as 
inconsistent  with  infinite  benevolence  and  wisdom, 
as  anything  attributed  to  God  by  the  Hebrew  wri- 
ters. He  is  continually  doing  things  that  are  as 
terrible  as  the  destruction  of  the  Canaan ites  by  the 
sword.  Generation  after  generation  is  struck  down 
by  death  in  its  various  forms.  Even  tender  infants, 
in  the  providence  of  God,  suffer  and  die.  The  pes- 
tilence is  often  employed  by  Him  to  decimate  com- 
munities and  nations.  Occasionally  He  strikes  down 
by  lightning  persons  no  worse  than  their  fellows, 
and  no  more  guilty  than  the  Israelite  who  was  put 
to  death  for  gathering  sticks  on  the  Sabbath.     The 


---  OBJECTIONS   ANSWERED.  285 

earthquake  overthrows  cities  to  their  foundations, 
and  crushes  and  mangles  the  inhabitants  beneath  the 
ruins.  The  avalanche  rolls  down  the  mountain-side 
and  buries  alive  hundreds  beneath  its  cold  weight. 
The  volcano  pours  out  rivers  of  red-hot  lava  which 
suffocates  and  burns  men,  women,  and  children  in 
its  course.  All  these  terrible  things  take  j^lace  in 
the  providence  of  God;  and  if  any  man  objects  to 
the  conduct  attributed  to  Him  in  the  Bible,  he  must, 
in  order  to  be  consistent,  object  to  the  providence  of 
God;  or  at  once  turn  atheist  and  murmur  darkly, 
Svith  the  fool,  in  his  heart,'  that  ^  there  is  no  God.' 
With  the  probability  or  possibility  of  a  supernatural 
indication  to  the  Israelites,  that  God  willed  the  de- 
struction of  the  Canaanites,  or  the  execution  of  the 
Sabbath-breaker,  we  have  nothing  now  to  do.  It  is 
sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  point  out  the  fact,  that 
God  does  indict  just  such  terrible  punishments,  and 
even  more  terrible,  on  men  for  their  sins  and  crimes. 
The  Bible  represents  Him  as  employing  the  Jews  as 
well  as  other  nations  as  instruments  to  execute  his 
will,  just  as  he  employs  the  natural  elements  for  the 
same  purpose.  In  the  transactions  above  referred 
to  the  Jews  are  to  be  considered  as  acting  the  part  of 
soldiers,  who  at  the  word  of  command  shoot  down  a 
comrade  for  cowardice,  or  for  sleeping  at  his  post. 
Neither  their  lawgiver  and  teachers,  nor  the  Bible, 
bases  these  terrible  punishments  on  the-  moral  prin- 
ciples which  should  guide  the  conduct  of  men  in 
general,  but  on  the  special  appointment  of  God. 
Hence  they  have  no  more  to  do  with  the  Bible  mo- 
rality than  God's  destruction  of  millions  and  mil- 


286  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

lions  of  human  beings  by  fire,  flood,  earthquake, 
volcano,  and  pestilence  has  to  do  with  morality  iu 
general.  Should  it  be  said  that  the  alleged  em- 
ployment of  the  Jews  in  the  infliction  of  God's 
wrath  for  sin,  and  their  alleged  conscious  agency  in 
it,  must  have  had  a  demoralizing  influence  on  them, 
— we  would  reply  that  the  assertion  is  not  supported 
by  fact.  For  among  the  Jews  was  produced  a  sys- 
tem of  morality  which,  as  we  will  hereafter  show,  is 
admitted  to  be  the  best  that  the  world  possesses. 

3.  It  has  been  further  objected  that  the  Bible 
encourages  hatred  and  revenge.  This  objection  is 
founded  partly  on  rais-translation  and  mis-interpre- 
tation. The  passage  in  which  king  David  is  repre- 
sented as  on  his  death- bed  charging  his  son  Solo- 
mon to  put  Shimei  to  death  is  mis-translated.^  The 
words  'but  his  hoar  head  bring  thou  down  to  the 
grave  with  blood'  should  read,  ^but  his^  hoar  head 
bring  thou  not  down  to  the  grave  with  blood,'  as  is 
shown  by  the  context.*  Accordingly,  Solomon  did 
at  first  spare  the  life  of  Shimei,  and  would  have  con- 
tinued to  do  so,  had  he  not  violated  his  oath  in  his 
clandestine  departure  from  Jerusalem.  Besides,  the 
command  of  David  to  Solomon  concerning  Shimei  is 
not  declared  to  have  been  just  and  right.  The  his- 
torian merely  records  it,  without  expressing  any 
opinion  concerning  its  moral  character.  The  ac- 
count of  the  punishment  of  the  Ammonites  by  Da- 
vid '  under  saws,  harrows,  and  axes,'  and  by  'making 

U  Kings,  2:  9. 
*According  to  Hebrew  usage,  the  negative  in  the  first  clause 
of  the  verse  is  to  be  understood  in  the  second. 


OBJECTIONS    ANSWERED.  287 

them  pass  through  the  brick-kiln/  does  not  show 
that  he  put  them  to  death;  but  that  he  spared  their 
lives,  and  subjected  them  to  hard  service  in  various 
kinds  of  manual  labor.  Here  again,  king  David's 
conduct  is  recorded  without  either  condemnation  or 
approval.  The  Psaluis  that  are  regarded  by  some 
as  breathing  a  spirit  of  malice  and  revenge,  do  not 
really  express  such  feelings.  Take  as  an  example 
the  declaration  in  the  139th  Psalm, — ^  Do  not  I 
hate  them,  O  Lord,  that  hate  thee?  and  am  not  I 
grieved  with  those  that  rise  up  against  thee?  I  hate 
them  with  perfect  hatred;  I  count  them  mine  ene- 
mies;' or  take  some  of  the  declarations  in  the  69th 
and  109th  Psalms.  In  regard  to  them  several  things 
are  to  be  observed.  (1)  These  declarations  relate  to 
persons  incorrigible  and  abandoned  in  their  wicked- 
ness. The  enemies  whom  the  Psalmist  denounces 
are  the  determined  and  open  haters  of  God,  and  of 
all  that  is  good.  The  hatred  which  he  expresses  is 
hatred  for  the  character  and  conduct  of  such  persons. 
(2)  There  is  no  intention  or  desire  expressed  by  the 
Psalmist  to  take  the  punishment  of  these  evil-doers 
into  his  own  hands.  His  declarations  contain  pre- 
dictions and  imprecations  of  punishment.  Pie  heart- 
ily approves  of  God's  judgments.  But  he  leaves 
the  most  detested  transgressors  in  the  hands  of  God, 
to  be  punished  according  to  their  deserts.  There  is 
no  liftinu:  of  his  own  hand  to  take  vens-eance.  His 
declarations  encourage  men  only  to  look  to  God  for 
the  redress  of  wrongs.  (3)  The  Psalmist,  doubtless, 
knew  and  understood  the  command  'Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself.'     His  desiring,  praying  for, 


288  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

and  approving  of  the  punishment,  yea,  the  destruc- 
tion of  incorrigible  oiFenders,"^  are  no  more  incon- 
sistent with  mercy  and  benevolence,  tlian  is  the 
arresting,  condemning,  and  hanging  of  murderers 
inconsistent  with  mercy  and  benevolence.  (4)  Con- 
strue these  declarations  as  we  may,  they  do  not  af- 
fect the  excellence  of  the  Hebrew  morality.  Christ, 
the  great  expounder  of  it,  forbade  all  malice  and 
revenge.  He  and  his  apostles  taught  that  men 
should  love  their  enemies,  and  return  good  for  evil. 
If  the  Psalms  any  where  encourage  a  vindictive 
spirit,  it  affects  indeed  the  question  of  ijlenary  in- 
spiration, but  not  our  argument;  since  the  more 
expanded  Hebrew  morality  of  the  New  Testament 
forbids  all  malice  and  revenge,  and  requires  the  re- 
turning of  good  for  evil. 

4.  The  execution  of  Saul's  two  sons  and  five 
grandsons,  for  his  wickedness  committed  years  be- 
fore,^ has  been  cited  as  an  act  of  cruel  injustice,  sanc- 
tioned by  the  Almighty.  The  latest  citation  of  this 
kind  that  has  fallen  under  our  eye  is  as  follows: 
'We  read  of  a  God  who  smote  a  whole  country  with 
plague  for  the  mis-deeds  of  a  king  long  since  dead, 
and  whose  wrath  could  be  appeased  only  by  the  cru- 
cifixion of  seven  innocent  meu.'^  But  the  wrath  of 
God  in  this  case  was  justice — displeasure  at  gross 
crime.  Saul  had  made  an  attempt  to  exterminate 
the  Gibeouites,  an  innocent  and  defenceless  people, 
and  had  slain  some  of  them  in  cold  blood.     It  was 

**  Avenge,  O  Lord!  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold!' — Milton. 
1 2  Sam.  21:  1— IL      ^  West.  Review,  Oct.  18G4,  p.  175. 


OBJECTIONS   ANSWERED.  289 

murder,  innocent  blood  shed  by  the  Israelltish  king, 
which  Avas  the  alleged  cause  of  God's  anger.  The 
Gibeonites  were  foreigners;  but  this  whole  transac- 
tion showed  that  the  killing  of  a  foreigner,  as  well 
as  an  Israelite,  was  to  be  regarded  and  punished  as 
a  detestable  crime.  The  punishment  of  the  crime 
years  after  its  commission,  only  made  the  lesson 
more  emphatic  and  impressive.  To  say  that  the 
seven  men  who  were  executed  were  innocent,  as  ie^ 
done  in  the  above  extract,  is  to  take  for  granted 
what  is  not  known,  and  to  make  an  unsupported  as- 
sertion. The  sons  and  grandsons  of  Saul  may  have 
concurred  in  his  crime,  and  have  been  in  reality  as 
guilty  as  he  was.  But  the  transaction  is  an  excep- 
tional one,  so  far  as  it  is  to  be  viewed  in  its  human 
aspect.  The  Jewish  law  declared  that  ^the  fathers 
shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the  children,  neither 
shall  the  children  be  put  to  death  for  the  fathers; 
every  one  shall  be  put  to  death  for  his  own  sin.^^ 
This  statute  regulated  human  punishments  among 
the  Jews.  But  they  were  taught  to  believe  that 
God  S^isits  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation.'^  And 
this  is  what  God  actually  does.  Often  do  the  crimes 
of  men  entail  dreadful  miseries  upon  their  posterity. 
The  children  of  the  thief,  the  drunkard,  the  mur- 
derer, and  other  transgressors,  suffer  for  the  sins  of 
their  fathers.  By  such  dispensations  God  manifests 
his  displeasure  at  sin,  and  warns  men  to  abstain 
from  it  for  the  sake  of  their  children,  as  well  as  for 

iDeut.  24:  16.  ^^x.  20:  5, 

25 


290  MORAL   EXCELLEISCE. 

themselves.  The  execution  of  Saul's  sons  and  grand- 
sons, in  accordance  with  the  Divine  direction,  was 
therefore  in  keeping  Avith  God's  way  of  dealing  with 
men.  It  is  not  presented  in  the  Bible  as  an  ex- 
ample to  be  followed  in  the  infliction  of  human 
punishment,  but  as  a  special  case,  in  which  God  ac- 
complished by  the  agency  of  men  what  he  general- 
ly accomplishes  by  providential  arrangements  and 
natural  laws.  This  special  case  no  more  affects  the 
character  of  the  Bible  morality,  than  the  dreadful 
miseries  which  men  by  their  crimes  often  bring  on 
their  posterity  affect  morality  in  general.  But  view 
this  matter  as  we  may,  the  Bible  represents  God  as 
inconceivably  just,  merciful,  and  benevolent;  forbids 
that  the  children  shall  be  punished  for  the  sins  of 
their  parents;  and  teaches  the  duty  of  universal  be- 
nevolence. These  alleged  examples  of  cruelty  and 
injustice  have  a  bearing  upon  the  question  of  the 
perfection  and  infallibility  of  the  Scriptures;  but  do 
not  affect  the  excellence  of  the  Hebrew  morality,— 
especially  as  presented,  in  its  matured  state,  in  the 
New  Testament. 

5.  The  passage  which  represents  the  children  of 
Israel  as  borrowing  jewels  of  silver  and  jewels  of 
gold  from  the  Egyptians  just  before  the  exodus,  has 
often  been  referred  to  by  infidels  as  justifying  fraud 
and  falsehood  by  the  divine  sanction.'  It  has,  how- 
ever, often  been  shown  that  the  word  translated  bor- 
row,  means  merely  to  ash  or  require  without  any 
promise  of  restitution.  But  the  objection  will  prob- 
»Ex.  11:  2-3. 


OBJECTIONS    ANSWERED.  291 

ably  continue  to  be  urged,  no  matter  how  often  or 
how  clearly  refuted. 

6.  The  morality  of  the  Bible  has  also  been  ob- 
jected to  on  account  of  polygamy.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment tolerated,  but  does  not  approve  of  polygamy. 
It  declares  that  marriage  originally  was  between  one 
man  and  one  woman.  It  teaches  that  this  was  the 
original  design — 'Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his 
father  and  mother  and  cleave  unto  his  wife  and  they 
shall  be  one  flesh. '^  This  is  declared  to  be  the  law 
of  marriage,  as  enacted  by  the  Almighty.  The 
existence  of  polygamy  is  recognized  in  the  civil 
laws  of  the  Jews,  and  some  of  its  evils  are  provided 
against,  but  it  is  not  sanctioned.  King  David  and 
other  good  men  (or,  if  the  infidel  prefers  it,  men 
who  are  represented  in  the  Bible  as  good)  had  more 
wives  than  one.  Our  common  translation  reads  that 
Solomon  'had  seven  hundred  wives,  princesses,  and 
three  hundred  concubines;  and  his  wives  turned 
away  his  heart.'^  We  hold  that  the  declaration  that 
these  thousand  women  were  the  wives  of  Solomon  is 
not  justified  by  the  original  Hebrew.  But  it  matters 
not  so  far  as  the  present  discussion  is  concerned  how 
many  wives  he  had.  His  polygamy  is  very  point- 
edly condemned.  He  violated  an  express  law  in 
marrying  many  wives.  For  it  was  enacted  that  the 
king  should  not  'multiply  wives  to  himself,  that  his 
heart  turn  not  away.'^  King  David's  polygamy 
was  condemned  by  the  same  law.  The  polygamy 
of  other  men  is  merely  recorded.  That  the  teach- 
1  Gen.  2 :  24.        M  j^i^gg  ^^  .  3         3  D^ut.  17 :  17. 


292  MORAI^   EXCELLENCE. 

ing  of  the  Old  Testament  is  unfavorable  to  polyg- 
amy is  evinced  by  the  fact,  that  it  ceased  among  the 
Jews.  In  the  time  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles  it 
was  unknown  among  them;  or  at  least  monogamy 
was  the  prevalent  custom.  It  is  undeniable  that  the 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament  is  decidedly  against 
polygamy.  Since,  then,  the  Bible  teaches  that  the 
oriirinal  law  of  marriage  is  that  a  man  shall  have 
but  one  wife,  nowhere  sanctions  polygamy,  and  by 
its  influence  abolished  it  among  the  Jews;  and  since 
the  New  Testament  clearly  condemns  it;  there  is  no 
well-founded  objection  to  the  Bible  morality  on  ac- 
count of  it. 

7.  The  last  objection  to  the  morality  of  the  Bible 
that  we  will  notice  is,  that  it  favors  slavery.  AYe 
admit  that  it  does  not  expressly  condemn  it,  but  its 
spirit  is  opposed  to  it.  The  principles  which  it  in- 
culcates in  regard  to  the  brotherhood  and  equality 
of  men  are  unfavorable  to  it.  Its  precepts,  faith- 
fully carried  out,  mitigate  its  evils,  and  finally  eradi- 
cate it.  The  opposition  to  slavery  has  generally 
been  by  Christians;  and  even  infidel  abolitionists 
have  ever  made  their  strongest  appeals  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Bible.  Some  Christians,  indeed,  have 
been  slaveholders;  but  slavery  exists  wdierever  the 
Bible  is  unknown.  Slavery  has  often  been  abolish- 
ed through  the  iufluence  of  the  Bible  and  Christi- 
anity, and  seldom  or  never  in  any  other  way.  To 
say  the  least,  the  Bible  impliedly  condemns  slavery, 
mitigates  its  evils,  and  prepares  the  way  for  its  ex- 
tinction. 

8.  We  close  our  discussion  of  the  objections  that 


OBJECTIONS   ANSWERED.  293 

are  urged  against  the  morality  of  the  Bible,  with  a 
few  general  observations:  (1)  Some  of  these  objec- 
tions are  founded,  as  we  have  shown,  on  mis-trans- 
lations and  mis-interpretations.  The  persistent  pre- 
sentation of  these,  after  their  real  character  has  been 
repeatedly  pointed  out,  indicates  that  even  the  sup- 
posed errors  of  the  Bible  morality  are  not  very  nu- 
merous. (2)  Others  of  these  objections  are  founded 
on  the  actions  of  men  recorded  in  Bible  history. 
Some  of  the  actions  of  good  men  recorded  in  the 
Bible  are  approved,  some  are  disapproved,  and  some 
are  neither  approved  nor  disapproved — except  so  far 
as  the  general  principles  of  the  Bible  have  a  bearing 
upon  them.  The  mere  fact  that  the  conduct  of  a 
man,  declared  to  be  good  and  pious,  is  recorded  in 
the  Bible,  is  not  an  approval  of  it.  Yet  some  of 
the  objections  urged  against  the  Bible  have  no  other 
foundation.  (3)  Others,  again,  of  these  objections 
are  founded  upon  the  assumption,  that  God  may  not 
authorize  men  to  do  as  his  agents  what  He  is  con- 
tinually doing  by  natural  means.  The  objection 
drawn  from  the  destruction  of  the  Canaanites  as- 
sumes that,  though  it  might  have  been  very  proper 
for  the  Almighty  to  cut  off  those  wicked  tribes  by  a 
flood  or  earthquake,  yet  it  is  intolerable  that  He 
should  employ  the  agency  of  men  for  that  purpose. 
(4)  Many  of  the  objections  urged  against  the  Bible 
morality  lie  with  equal  weight  against  natural  reli- 
gion, and  the  moral  government  of  God.  The  most 
dreadful  punishments  are  inflicted  on  men  for  their 
sins.  Famine,  pestilence,  and  war  hurry  thousands 
25* 


294  -       MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

upon  thousands  to  premature  graves.  Fire,  flood, 
earthquake,  volcano,  and  avalanche  burn,  drown, 
smother,  boil,  bake,  crush,  and  mangle  the  bodies  of 
men,  women,  and  children.  Men  also  are  involved 
in  each  other's  punishment.  The  errors  and  sins 
of  one  generation  often  come  with  crushing  weight 
upon  those  that  follow.  If  there  is  a  God  in  heav- 
en, who  rules  over  men,  he  is  continually  manifest- 
ing his  anger  at  their  sins  by  these  tremendous 
punishments.  Gothe,  skeptic  though  he  was,  speaks 
of  Hhe  strong  naturalness  of  the  Old  Testament.' 
Its  very  morality  is  confirmed  by  the  actual  state  of 
thino:s  in  this  world.  All  those  dreadful  actions 
which  it  ascribes  to  God  He  actually  performs,  or 
else  He  does  not  rule  in  the  earth.  We  might  close 
the  Bible,  and,  guided  by  the  light  of  nature  alone, 
say  to  the  infidel,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against 
Godf  (5)  Lastly,  the  Hebrew  morality  is  not  fully 
revealed  in  the  Old  Testament.  Some  things  were 
permitted  among  the  Jews  on  account  of  the  hard- 
ness of  their  hearts;  as,  for  instance,  the  divorce- 
ment of  wives  by  their  husbands.  A  species  of 
involuntary  servitude  was  allowed;  but  by  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Jubilee  a  system  of  emancipation  was 
established.  Kingly  despotism  was  denounced  and 
forbidden;  but  it  was  tolerated,  and  its  evils  cur- 
tailed. That  the  Jews  were  left  in  ignorance  in 
regard  to  some  points  of  morality,  we  admit.  That 
many  things  morally  wrong  were  tolerated  among 
them,  we  also  admit.  We  do  not  admit  that  any- 
thing morally  wrong  was  actually  sanctioned  either 
in  their  moral  or  civil  code.     But  if  such  were  the 


OBJECTIONS   ANSWERED.  295 

case,  it  would  not  constitute  a  well-founded  objection 
to  the  morality  of  the  Bible.  For  there  was  a  pro- 
gressive advancement  in  morality  as  well  as  theology 
among  them.  AVe  might  admit,  so  far  as  our  argu- 
ment is  concerned,  that  in  the  Bible  'there  are  nar- 
ratives which  cannot  well  be  surpassed  for  their 
superstitious  and  demoralizing  character,  for  gross 
credulity,  and  barbarous  vindictiveness.'  For  not- 
withstanding the  superstitious  credulity  and  vindic- 
tive animosity  that  may  have  existed  among  the 
Jews,  and  notwithstanding  any  moral  errors  that 
may  be  supposed  to  be  contained  in  the  books  of 
Moses,  the  Psalms,  or  any  of  the  older  parts  of  the 
Bible,  their  teachers  and  writers  continued  to  make 
fuller  and  clearer  enunciations  of  moral  truth,  until 
finally  the  Hebrew  morality  became  so  comprehen- 
sive and  complete,  that  during  eighteen  hundred 
years  of  advancing  civilization  no  error  has  been 
detected,  and  no  improvement  suggested.  Nor  does 
it  matter  whether  this  advancement  was  very  grad- 
ual, or  whether  the  Hebrew  morality  was  almost  at 
once  brought  into  a  state  of  perfection.  It  did  at- 
tain to  a  state  of  perfection  in  the  time  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles;  and  this  wonderful  phenomenon  is  all 
the  more  wonderful  because  of  the  barbarous  cred- 
ulity and  vindictiveness  which,  the  skeptical  objec- 
tor asserts,  darkened  and  dwarfed  the  Jewish  mind. 
Most  assuredly  we  ought  to  judge  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  Hebrew  nation,  not  by  what  they  were 
and  did  when  emerging  from  the  degradation  of 
slavery,  nor  merely  by  their  earlier  writings;  but  by 
their  literature,  jurisprudence,  theology,  and  moral- 


296  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

ity  when  these  were  carried  to  the  highest  state 
of  perfection.  The  very  objections  that  are  urged 
a2:ainst  the  morality  of  the  Bible,  only  make  their 
attainments  in  moral  science  more  unaccountable, — 
except  on  the  ground  that  they  received  supernatural 
aid. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   MORAL   PERFECTION   OF   JESUS. 

Jesus  is  set  forth  as  the  model  man.  The  writers 
of  the  New  Testament  enjoin  upon  all,  the  imitation 
of  his  spirit  and  conduct.  Unlike  all  other  charac- 
ters presented  in  the  Bible,  he  is  declared  to  be  sin- 
less and  perfect.  Hence  he  may  be  considered  as 
the  embodiment  of  the  Hebrew  morality. 

The  poets  and  historians  of  the  world  celebrate 
the  praises  of  successful  kings  and  warriors;  but 
the  New  Testament  writers  record  the  sayings  and 
doings  of  one  who  had  none  of  the  trappings  of 
earthly  pomp  and  greatness  to  recommend  him  to 
admiration  and  applause.  Contrary  to  the  expec- 
tation of  the  Jews  in  regard  to  the  Messiah,  Jesus 
appeared  as  a  poor  man,  the  son  of  a  carpenter,  and 
an  inhabitant  of  the  despised  city  of  Nazareth.  In 
his  personal  manners,  he  was  meek,  patient,  gentle, 
kind,  and  condescending.  He  was  dignified,  but 
familiar.  Unlike  the  founders  of  Jewish  sects,  he 
was  without  ostentation  and  without  austerity.  lie 
refused  not  to  enter  the  houses  of  the  rich  and  to 
partake  of  their  bounteous  hos])itality;  yet  none 
were  so  lowly  and  mean  as  to  be  beneath  his  notice. 
He  acted  in  direct  opposition  to  Jewish  pride  and 
prejudice,  in  eating  with  unwashen   hands,  and  in 

297 


298  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

fitting  at  table  with  publicans  and  sinners.  He  re- 
ceived all  of  every  name  and  class.  He  was  never 
idle,  and  never  trifled.  'He  went  about  doing  good.' 
He  healed  the  sick,  fed  the  hungry,  instructed  the 
ignorant,  comforted  the  sorrowful,  cast  out  devils, 
and  raised  the  dead.  He  turned  not  away,  indeed, 
from  the  rich,  the  noble,  and  the  great;  but  he  es- 
[)ccially  sympathized  with  and  blessed  the  poor,  the 
unfortunate,  and  the  wretched. 

But,  gentle  though  he  was  toward  honest  inqui- 
rers after  truth,  and  compassionate  though  he  was 
to  the  poor  and  the  distressed,  he  was  unsparing 
in  his  denunciations  of  pride,  fraud,  and  injustice. 
He  overwhelmed  hypocrites  and  captious  opponents 
with  scathing  rebukes  and  invectives.  He  fearlessly 
assailed  the  pride,  covetousness,  and  deceit  of  the 
Jewish  rulers  and  teachers;  and  indignantly  denoun- 
ced the  formal,  bigoted,  and  self-righteous  scribes 
and  Pharisees.  His  teaching  had  tremendous  power. 
*He  spake  as  one  having  authority.'  The  very  men 
who  were  sent  to  arrest  him  went  away  confounded, 
and  declared  to  their  employers,  'Never  man  spake 
like  this  man.'  lu  the  advocacy  of  truth  he  was 
uncompromising  and  daring.  In  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity and  righteousness,  he  confronted  danger  and 
death.  He  entangled  not  himself  with  worldly  af- 
fairs. He  meddled  not  with  matters  merely  politi- 
cal. He  declared,  *My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world.'  He  claimed  to  be  a  king,  indeed;  but  a 
king  of  tr'ith  and  righteousness,  ^yith  singleness 
of  purpose  and  entire  consecration  of  soul,  he  labor- 
ed for  the  welfare  of  men.     AVith  dauntless  courage, 


THE   MORAL   PERFECTION   OF   JESUS.  299 

unshaken  purpose,  and  burning  love  of  mankind, 
he  toiled  on,  unmoved  by  weariness,  reproach,  per- 
secution, danger,  and  death. 

As  to  the  matter  of  his  teaching,  it  included  all 
theology  and  all  morals.  His  doctrines  include  all 
human  duties,  and  forbid  every  sin.  He  gave  the 
preference  to  faith,  love,  mercy,  and  justice,  over  sac- 
rifices and  tithes.  Instead  of  ceremonial  observances; 
he  enjoined  inward  purity  and  devotion.  His  teach- 
ing w^as  armed  with  the  authority  of  God;  and  with 
sanctions  high  as  heaven,  deep  as  hell,  and  lasting 
as  eternity.  Both  as  a  teacher  and  as  an  individual, 
he  exhibited  a  perfect  combination  of  the  rarest 
qualities.  He  rebuked  the  hypocritical  scribes  and 
Pharisees  in  tones  of  indignation;  yet  took  little 
children  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them.  Thouo-h 
bold  and  unflinching  in  the  advocacy  of  truth,  and 
fierce  in  his  denunciation  of  party-spirit  and  hypoc- 
risy; he  wept  at  the  tomb  of  Lazarus.  He  w^as  no 
Stoic;  yet  he  stood  calm  and  gentle  before  Herod 
and  Pilate,  while  the  excited  multitude  under  the 
influence  of  his  blood-thirsty  enemies  bayed  and 
howled  around  him.  With  consummate  dignity, 
infinite  self-respect,  and  unbounded  claims  to  hom- 
age and  obedience;  he  ever  manifested  patience, 
meekness,  and  humility.  Claiming  to  be  the  Son 
of  God  and  the  Lord  from  heaven;  he  made  himself 
the  servant  of  all,  and  even  washed  his  disciples'  feet. 
Though  with  a  sort  of  religious  fury  he  drove  the 
traders  and  thieves  out  of  the  temple,  and  overthrew 
the  tables  of  the  money-changers;  he  stood  in  gentle 
dignity  before  his  accusers  and  judges,  and  suffered 


300  MORAL  excelle:s^ce. 

Avith  meekness  all  the  indignities  and  injuries  that 
were  heaped  upon  him.  Though  he  poured  out  his 
indignation  on  self-righteous  hypocrites;  he  prayed 
for  his  crucifiers,  saying,  ^  Father,  forgive  them,  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do !' 

One  thing  very  remarkable  in  the  character  of 
Jesus  is  its  perfect  consistency.  He  is  ever  the 
same.  He  is  always  dignified,  meek,  calm,  and 
condescending.  At  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances— in  the  vast  assemblage,  and  in  private 
intercourse;  in  company  with  his  friends  and  disci- 
ples, and  in  conflict  with  his  enemies;  in  the  temple, 
in  the  synagogue,  on  ship-board,  on  the  mountain- 
top;  at  feasts,  at  marriages,  by  the  sick-bed,  at  the 
side  of  the  grave,  in  his  addresses  to  the  multitude, 
in  solitary  prayer;  when  healing  the  sick,  when 
feeding  the  hungry,  when  casting  out  devils,  when 
raising  the  dead ;  in  the  storm-tossed  vessel ;  while 
walking  on  the  sea;  at  the  tomb  of  Lazarus;  in  the 
upper  room  at  supper;  when  he  washed  the  feet  of 
his  disciples;  while  suffering  and  praying  in  the 
garden;  while  confronting  his  judges  and  accusers; 
when  scourged,  spitted  on,  and  crowned  with  thorns ; 
when  nailed  to  the  cross;  while  praying  for  his  cru- 
cifiers;  while  breathing  his  last;  in  his  interviews 
with  his  disciples  after  his  resurrection  ;  at  his  de- 
parture from  them  and  in  giving  them  his  parting 
blessing; — at  all  times,  in  all  places,  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, he  exhibited  the  same  combination  of 
amiable  and  glorious  qualities;  the  same  simplicity 
and  calm  dignity;  the  same  self-respect  and  the  same 
condescension;  the  same  consciousness  of  j^ower  and 


THE   MORAL   PERFECTION   OF   JESUS.  301 

worth,  and  the  same  meekness  and  self-sacrifice;  the 
same  loathing  of  pride,  hypocrisy,  covetousness,  for- 
malism, self-righteousness,  and  sin  in  all  its  forms, 
and  the  same  tenderness  and  compassion  for  sinners; 
the  same  benevolence,  devotion,  and  humility  ;  and 
the  same  loftiness  and  grandeur  of  soul.  Never 
did  he  utter  a  word  of  impatience  or  fretful  com- 
plaint; and  never  did  he  perform  an  act  unworthy 
of  his  avowed  mission,  or  of  the  exalted  character 
which  he  claimed  as  the  Son  of  God.  Yet  the 
sacred  writers  present  his  character  in  a  calm  and 
simple  narration.  They  employ  no  eulogy.  They 
express  little  or  no  admiration.  They  professedly 
report  merely  what  Jesus  said  and  did,  and  thus 
make  his  character  stand  out  before  us  like  a  living 
reality. 

As  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  remark,  it 
matters  not,  so  far  as  our  argument  is  concerned, 
whether  the  infidel  admits  or  denies  that  Christ 
spoke  and  acted  as  his  biographers  assert,  or  even 
that  such  a  person  ever  existed.  The  New  Testa- 
ment gives  us  the  historical  portrait  of  a  Jew  named 
Jesus  the  CJirist;  and  his  character,  whether  real  or 
ideal,  is  the  exponent  of  moral  excellence  according 
to  the  Hebrew  standard.  This  master-piece  of  ex- 
cellence is  set  before  us  in  the  New  Testament  for 
our  imitation.  Its  writers  declare  that  in  spirit, 
conduct,  and  character,  we  should  be  such  as  they 
describe  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

The  unparalleled  excellence  of  this  model  charac- 
ter is  generally  admitted  even  by  those  who  disbe- 
26 


302  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

lieve  the  New  Testament  history.  Some  skeptics 
can  scarcely  find  words  adequate  to  express  their 
enthusiastic  admiration.  We  have  already  presented 
an  extract  from  the  writings  of  Rousseau  in  proof 
of  the  literary  excellence  of  the  Gospel  narratives. 
This  French  infidel  also  expressed  great  admira- 
tion for  the  moi;al  excellence  of  Christ's  character. 
*  Where  is  the  man,  where  is  the  sage  who  could 
thus  suffer  and  die  without  weakness  and  without 
ostentation?  *  *  *  What  prejudice,  what  blind- 
ness it  is,  to  presume  to  compare  the  son  of  Sophron- 
iscus  with  the  son  of  Mary!  What  a  distance  be- 
tween the  two!  *  *  *  Xhe  death  of  Socrates, 
tranquilly  philosophizing  with  his  friends,  is  the 
most  pleasant  one  could  desire;  that  of  Jesus  expir- 
ing in  agonies,  abused,  taunted,  cursed  by  a  whole 
people,  is  the  most  horrible  one  could  fear.  Socrates 
blessed  the  executioner  who  wept  in  presenting  the 
poisoned  cup;  Jesus,  amidst  frightful  tortures,  pray- 
ed for  his  enraged  tormentors.  Yes,  if  the  life  and 
death  of  Socrates  were  those  of  a  sage,  the  life  and 
death  of  Jesus  were  those  of  a  God.'^  Renan,  who 
maintains  the  human  origin  of  the  Bible  and  Chris- 
tianity, expresses  the  highest  admiration  of  Christ's 
cliaracter  as  a  man.  He  calls  him  ^the  incomparable 
man,  to  whom  the  universal  conscience  has  decreed 
the  title  of  the  Son  of  God.'  He  also  speaks  of  him 
as  'this  sublime  person;'  and  declares  that  ^in  him 
is  condensed  all  that  is  good  and  lofty  in  our  na- 
ture.'^    Gothe  tells  us  that  he  loved  Christ,  as  well 

^  Emile,  1.  4.        *  Vie  de  Jesus,  chs.  1,  28. 


THE   MORAL   FERFECTION   OF   JESUS.  303 

as  tbo  Scriptures.^  In  his  WanderjaJire,  published 
by  him  in  his  seventy-second  year,  he  styles  Christ 
the  Divine  man,  a  pattern  and  an  example,  a  model  of 
exalted  patience.  In  his  eighty-third  year,  he  de- 
clared his  belief  in  the  genuineness  of  the  four  gos- 
pels, because  he  saw  in  them  a  reflection  of  the 
greatness  which  emanated  from  the  person  of  Christ. 
lie  said,  *If  I  am  asked  whether  it  is  in  my  nature 
to  pay  him  devout  reverence,  I  say,  certainly!  I 
bow  before  him  as  the  divine  manifestation  of  the 
highest  morality.'^  These  declarations  do  not  indi- 
cate that  the  German  poet  was  a  genuine  believer  in 
Christianity.  He  was,  indeed,  a  genuine  doubter; 
but  he  regarded  the  character  of  Christ  as  a  master- 
piece of  excellence,  admirable  for  its  beauty  and  per- 
fection. Strauss,  who  maintains  that  the  gospel 
narratives  are  made  up  of  myths,  conscious  misrep- 
resentations, and  an  uncertain  quantity  of  truth, 
speaks  of  the  portraiture  of  Christ  as  the  ideal  of 
the  greatest,  best,  and  holiest  man;  and  as  the  high- 
est type  of  excellence  conceivable  by  the  human 
mind.  He  further  styles  him  the  greatest  man  that 
ever  trod  the  earth,  a  hero  in  whose  fate  Providence 
is  in  the  hiii:hest  deo-ree  o-lorified.^  Theodore  Park- 
er,  who  agreed  with  Strauss  in  many  things,  and 
who  gained  his  reputation  mainly  by  the  reproduc- 
tion of  the  ideas  of  German  rationalists,  bore  very 
decided  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  Christ's  char- 

»  Truth  and  Poetry,  B.  15. 

^  Life  and  Works  of  Gothe  by  Lewes,  vol.  2,  p.  397, 
^       3  Leben  Jesu,  B.  Ill,  s.  147. 


304  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

acter.  Said  he,  'I  think  Jesus  was  a  perfect  man — 
perfect  in  morality  and  religion/^ 

Such  are  the  opinions  expressed  concerning  the 
moral  excellence  of  Christ's  character  by  the  most 
prominent  opponents  of  his  Deity  and  of  the  super- 
natural inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  A  volume 
might  be  filled  with  such  testimonies.  We  deem  it 
sufEcient  to  give  the  above  as  specimens.  Doubt- 
less, most  readers  are  aware  that  the  more  consider- 
ate class  of  skeptics  concede  the  moral  perfection  of 
Christ's  character,  as  portrayed  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

Now,  this  faultless  character  is  the  exponent  of 
Bible  morality.  Christ  is  set  forth  as  the  model 
man.  It  may,  indeed,  be  objected  that  he  cannot  be 
a  model  for  every  class  of  men,  nor  for  any  class  in 
every  respect.  But  parents  of  forty  or  fifty  years  of 
age  should  and  can  teacli  their  young  ciiildren  by 
example  as  well  as  by  precept;  and  most  assuredly 
Christ  may  with  as  much  propriety  be  an  example 
to  mankind  in  general  as  parents  to  their  children. 
Christ  set  forth  in  his  conduct  the  motives  and  spirit 
by  which  all  mankind  should  be  actuated.  Men, 
women,  and  children  should  have  the  same  mind 
that  was  in  him.  They  should  be  holy,  just,  tem- 
perate, benevolent,  merciful,  forbearing,  meek,  hum- 
ble, condescending,  self-denying,  and  self-sacrificing, 
as  he  was.  So  the  New  Testament  teaches  and  com- 
mands. The  Hebrew  writers,  in  thus  exhibiting  a 
character  of  perfect  excellence  and  in  commanding^ 
^  Life  and  Cor.,  by  Weiss,  letter  to  S.  J.  i\[ay. 


THE   MORAL   PERFECTION   OF   JESUS.  305 

US  to  imitate  it,  teach  a  perfect  morality.  In  setting 
forth  Jesus  Christ  as  the  model  man,  they  have  done 
more  to  elevate  the  standard  of  human  virtue,  and 
exalt  human  character,  than  all  the  philosophers  and 
moralists  of  the  world. 


26* 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   HEBREW   MORALITY   COMPARED   WITH 
OTHER   SYSTEMS. 

We  will  be  enabled  better  to  appreciate  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  Bible  morality  by  comparing  it  with 
other  systems. 

1.  The  morality  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  The 
moral  system  of  this  renowned  nation,  if  moral  sys- 
tem they  had  at  all,  was  especially  defective  in  those 
great  truths  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  true 
morality  as  well  as  religion.  They  believed  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul;  but  this  doctrine  was  in 
their  minds  encumbered  and  obscured  with  the  ab- 
surdities of  transmigration.  They  believed,  too,  in 
a  judgment  after  death,  and  in  future  rewards  and 
punishments.  But  they  by  no  means  attained  to  the 
clear  ideas  on  these  subjects  that  we  are  accustomed 
to  in  the  Scriptures.  God's  hatred  of  sin,  men's  ac- 
countability to  Him,  his  coming  to  judge  the  world 
at  the  last  day,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the  as- 
sembling of  all  mankind  before  the  judgment- throne, 
their  giving  an  account  of  all  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body,  the  immortality  of  the  soul  in  a  state  of  con- 
scious existence,  the  blessedness  of  the  righteous,  the 
misery  of  the  wicked, — doctrines  wdiich  are  intimate- 
ly connected  with  right  moral  ideas  and  feelings, 
306 


COMPARED   WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  307 

and  which  were  so  clearly  announced  to  the  Jews  by 
their  teachers  and  writers, — were  either  entirely  un- 
known to  the  Egyptians,  or  were  held  by  them  ob- 
scurely and  feebly.  They  had  no  such  code  as  the 
Decalogue.  They  were  ignorant  of  most  of  the  doc- 
trines contained  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  They 
never  attained  to  a  knowledge  of  the  grand  truths 
that  abound  in  the  Scriptures.  They  knew  nothing 
of  such  commands  as  ^Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself,'  and  ^Do  unto  others  as  you  would  have 
them  do  unto  you.'  Famed  as  they  were  for  wisdom 
and  learning,  they  were  especially  barren  in  moral- 
ity. Their  moral  ideas  were  few  and  limited.  They 
were  of  all  nations  the  least  governed  by  principles. 
Among  them  almost  every  thing  was  controlled  by 
rules,  customs,  and  legislative  enactments.  AYith  all 
their  achievements  and  their  prolonged  national  ex- 
istence, they  did  little  or  nothing  for  the  moral  im- 
provement of  the  world.  In  all  the  ransacking  of 
Egypt's  tombs  and  mummies,  in  all  the  studying  and 
deciphering  of  her  hieroglyphics,  in  all  the  examina- 
tions of  her  obelisks,  sphinxes,  and  pyramids,  and 
in  all  that  is  recorded  of  her  history,  arts,  laws, 
and  learning  in  Grecian  and  E-oman  authors, — not  a 
single  discovery  has  been  made  that  is  now,  in  a 
moral  point  of  view,  of  any  value  to  mankind.  Her 
morality  is  as  worthless  a  thing  as  one  of  her  own 
ragged  mummies,  of  interest  only  to  the  antiquarian. 
If  air  that  is  known  of  ancient  Egypt  were  lost  and 
forgotten,  the  world  morally  would  be  none  the 
poorer.  But  if  the  Hebrew  Decalogue,  the  Sermon 
on   the   Mount,  the   Golden   Hule,  or   the   Lord's 


308  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

Prayer,  were  blotted  out  of  existence,  a  blank  would 
be  created  which  the  learning  and  philosophy  of  the 
world  could  not  fill. 

What  the  actual  state  of  morals  among  the  ancient 
Egyptians  was,  cannot  be  fully  known.  It  is  ascer- 
tained, however,  that  the  inter-marriage  of  brothers 
and  sisters  was  allowed  and  practised.  Polygamy 
was  sanctioned  and  allowed  to  all  classes  but  the 
priests.  Slavery  in  its  worst  form  was  an  estab- 
lished institution.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
drunkenness  was  common  even  among  the  women.^ 
According  to  Moses,  the  Egyptians  were  cruel  and 
oppressive.^  Their  barbarity  in  destroying  the  male 
children  of  the  Israelites  has  rarely  been  surpassed. 
These,  however,  were  not  their  worst  immoralities. 
For  when  we  consider  the  debasing  influence  of  their 
beastly  theology,  and  its  inevitable  effects  upon  their 
minds  and  manners,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  the 
most  shameful  practices  prevailed  and  were  encour- 
aged among  them.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the 
fact,  that  Herodotus  speaks  of  some  of  their  cus- 
toms as  being  too  indecent  to  be  mentioned.  We 
have  also  referred  to  the  laws  which  Moses  enacted 
against  bestial  impurity  and  other  abominations 
among  the  Jews,  immediately  after  their  coming  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  as  indicating  the  vile  contam- 
inations to  which  in  that  land  they  had  been  ex- 
posed.^ According  to  the  testimony  of  Herodotus,'* 
chastity  among  the  Egyptian  women  was  very  rare. 

^  Wilkinson,  vol.  1,  pp.  51-3.     ^  Ex.  1 :  9-22. 
spartii,  ch.  2.        *B.  2:  11. 


COMPARED  WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  309 

This  testimony  is  strengthened  by  Moses  in  his  ac- 
count of  Joseph.^ 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  morality  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians  was  vastly  inferior  to  the  moral- 
ity taught  in  the  religious  books  of  the  Jews.  With 
the  actual  morals  of  the  Jews  we  have  nothing  now 
to  do.  According  to  their  own  writers  there  was 
often  a  shock  in  2:  state  of  morals  amono;  them.  But 
this  only  makes  the  perfect  and  sublime  morality 
taught  by  their  poets,  prophets,  and  apostles  more 
wonderful.  Whereas  the  immoralities  of  the  Egyp- 
tians were  in  accordance  with  the  teach ino;s  and  ex- 
ample  of  their  priests,  theologians,  and  leaders. 

2.  The  Hindu  morality.  The  doctrines  which  lie 
at  the  foundation  of  all  pure  morality  were  un- 
known to  the  Hindus,  or  were  very  imperfectly  un- 
derstood by  them.  They  were  taught,  indeed,  that 
there  is  a  God — or  rather  a  vast  multitude  of  gods; 
that  the  soul  is  immortal;  that  there  is  a  future  state 
of  rewards  and  punishments;  and  that  the  future 
condition  of  men  is  influenced  by  their  character  and 
conduct  in  this  life.  But  they  had  no  such  ideas  of 
the  personality,  majesty,  holiness,  justice,  and  good- 
ness of  the  one  true  God,  as  are  taught  in  the  Bible. 
Their  doctrine  of  the  soul's  immortality  was  degra- 
ded by  the  fable  of  transmigration.  iVnd  the  salu- 
tary influence  of  the  doctrine  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments  was  destroyed,  or  greatly  decreased,  by 
their  mistaken  and  absurd  views  in  resrard  to  hu- 
man  merit,  caste,  purification,  penance,  the  sacred- 
^  Gen.  39:  7-12. 


310  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

ness  of  animals,  and  tlie  conscious  life  of  plants  and 
minerals.  In  their  writings  are  found  no  such  views 
of  God's  hatred  of  sin  and  of  his  awful  justice,  his 
boundless  love  and  mercy,  the  value  of  inward 
purity  above  outward  observances,  the  glorious  re- 
wards of  the  righteous  and  the  dreadful  miseries  of 
the  wicked,  as  are  included  in  the  Bible.  The  re- 
straining, purifying,  and  elevating  truths  which  it 
teaches  in  regard  to  God,  the  human  soul,  the  char- 
acter of  true  virtue,  the  strict  accountability  of  men, 
life,  death,  heaven,  hell,  and  immortality, — are  un- 
known in  the  Hindu  system.  It  is  characterized 
also  by  the  absence  of  those  simple,  yet  compre- 
hensive and  grand  utterances,  which  abound  in  the 
Bible.  Like  the  ancient  Egyptians,  they  had  no 
Decalogue,  no  Golden  Rule,  no  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  They  had  no  hymns  which  an  intelligent 
man  of  modern  times  would  use  for  the  moral  in- 
struction of  his  children.  They  had  no  book  of 
Proverbs  the  reading  of  which  would  confirm  the 
faltering  virtue  of  young  men,  and  strengthen  them 
against  the  temptations  of  vice.  They  had  no  books 
so  abounding  in  significant  moral  utterances  as  to  be 
suitable  to  be  used  as  a  text-book  in  moral  science, 
or  as  the  basis  of  popular  discourses  on  individual 
and  national  duties  and  sins.  They  had  no  Songs, 
Epistles,  nor  Histories,  which  it  would  not  be  an  out- 
rage to  read  at  funerals  or  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick 
and  dying.  No  sane  man  would  employ  any  of 
their  writimi^s  to  strenj^then  and  comfort  the  miser- 
able  and  broken-hearted.     Thus  their  vast  inferior- 


COMPAPvED    WITH    OTHER   SYSTEMS.  311 

ity  in  moral  significance  and  value  to  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  is  demonstrated. 

The  vast  inferiority  of  the  morality  of  the  Hindus 
is  further  seen,  in  their  beau-ideal  of  human  excel- 
lence. Their  model  man  was  a  wandering,  wretch- 
ed, half-starved,  self-righteous  hermit.  The  Saniii/- 
asiy  who  was  supposed  to  attain  to  union  with  the 
Supreme  Being,  and  to  be  absorbed  into  his  essence, 
was  a  Brahmin  who  spent  the  fourth  period  of  liis 
life  in  prayers  and  austerities.  He  forsook  his  family 
and  friends,  and  lived  in  total  solitude.  He  had  no 
shelter,  no  fire,  no  home.  He  begged  his  food,  ate 
but  once  a  day,  and  only  when  very  hungry.  He 
had  no  hatred,  fear,  or  love  toward  any  human 
beino^.  He  drank  water  strained  throucjh  a  cloth  to 
avoid  injuring  minute  insects.  He  purified  himself 
by  suppressions  of  his  breath  and  by  the  repetition 
of  mystic  words.^  Such  was  the  model  man  of  the 
Hindus — such  the  ideal  excellence  which  they  were 
taught  to  imitate. 

How  different  the  moral  excellence  enjoined  upon 
the  Hebrews! — ^Is  it  such  a  fast  that  I  have  chosen? 
a  day  for  a  man  to  afflict  his  soul?  is  it  to  bow  down 
his  head  as  a  bulrush,  and  to  spread  sackcloth  and 
ashes  under  him?  wilt  thou  call  this  a  fast,  and  an 
acceptable  day  to  the  Lord?  Is  not  this  the  fast 
that  I  have  chosen;  to  loose  the  bands  of  wicked- 
ness, to  undo  the  heavy  burdens  and  to  let  the  op- 
pressed go  free,  and  that  ye  break  every  yoke?  Is 
it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  that  thou 

>  Menu,  6:  22-79. 


312  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

bring  the  poor  that  arc  cast  out  to  thy  house?  when 
thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou  cover  him,  and  that 
thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh  ?'^  The 
difference,  the  immeasurable  difference,  between  the 
Hindu  morality  and  the  Hebrew  is  seen  in  the  con- 
trast between  the  Sannyasi  and  Jesus  of  Nazareth, — 
the  one,  unsocial,  solitary,  selfish,  unfeeling,  hag- 
gard, emaciated,  self-righteous,  relying  upon  austeri- 
ties, ceremonies,  and  incantations  for  acceptance  with 
God;  and  the  other,  kind,  compassionate,  social, 
sympathizing,  enjoying  whatever  hospitalities  and 
comforts  are  offered  him,  laborious  and  self-sacrifi- 
cing in  the  service  of  others,  and  showing  by  ex- 
ample as  well  as  by  precept  the  beauty  and  excel- 
lence of  moral  purity  and  disinterested  benevolence. 
The  teaching  of  the  Hindu  authors  tended  to  pro- 
duce the  spirit  and  conduct  of  the  secluded,  selfish, 
and  unfeeling  Sannyasi;  the  Scriptures  present  the 
perfect  and  glorious  character  of  Christ  for  the  imi- 
tation of  men. 

Many  of  the  laws  of  the  Hindus  were  very  im- 
moral. Polygamy  was  authorized.  Slavery  of  the 
most  deiiradinsf  kind  was  an  established  institution. 
Women  were  declared  never  to  be  fit  for  independ- 
ence; and,  as  inferior  beings,  were  forbidden  to  read 
the  Vedas.  Adultery  was  allowed  in  persons  of  tlie 
same  class.  Chiklless  wives  of  the  servile  class  were 
permitted  to  have  children  by  the  brothers  or  other 
kinsmen  of  their  husbands.  A  wife  incurably  dis- 
eased   might    be    superseded    by   another   wife.      A 

J  Isaiah,  58:  5-7. 


COMPARED    WITH   OTHER   SYSTEMS.  ol3 

childless  wife  might  be  superseded  in  the  eighth 
year;  a  wife  whose  children  were  all  dead,  in  the 
tenth ;  one  who  had  only  daughters,  in  the  eleventh ; 
one  who  spoke  unkindly,  without  delay.  It  was 
provided  that  a  diseased  wife  who  was  virtuous, 
though  superseded,  should  not  be  disgraced.  A 
king  who  was  incurably  diseased,  was  required  to 
seek  death  in  battle,  or  by  starvation.  A  Brahmin 
who  was  incurably  diseased  was  required  to  'feed  on 
water  and  air  until  his  body  totally  decayed.^  A 
wife,  after  her  husband's  death,  was  forbidden  to 
pronounce  the  name  of  another  man,  and  was  re- 
quired to  emaciate  her  body  by  slender  diet  and  the 
performance  of  harsh  duties.  A  Brahmin,  though 
convicted  of  all  possible  crimes,  was  not  to  be 
punished.  The  king  might,  indeed,  banish  him, 
but  with  his  property  secure  and  his  body  unhurt.^ 
These  are  some  of  the  objectionable  enactments  of 
the  Hindu  civil  and  moral  code.  The  Institutes  of 
Menu  are  supposed  to  have  been  compiled  nearly 
1300  years  before  Christ.  But  we  discover  in  them 
the  spirit  and  ideas  which  led  to  worse  errors  after- 
wards. The  widow-burninirs,  child-drowninirs,  Juo:- 
gernaut-immolations,  and  other  hideous  practices 
among  the  modern  people  of  India,  are  but  the 
earlier  Hindu  ideas  gone  to  seed.  The  Hindu  mind 
moved  on  in  the  direction  of  its  first  lerrors.  What- 
ever was  bad  in  the  Hindu  system  struck  its  roots 
deeper  and  deeper,  grew  stronger  and  stronger,  and 
finally  produced  fruits  at  which  humanity  shudders. 
» Menu,  4:  157-8;  G:  31;  8:  204;  9:  18-323. 
27 


314  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

Whatever  was  evil  in  the  Hebrew  system  was  merely 
])ormitted,  was  curtailed  and  counteracted,  and  final- 
ly in  the  time  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles  was  abol- 
ished, leaving  a  pure  and  perfect  morality  as  an 
inheritance  of  the  nations.  The  Hindu  morality 
was  for  ages  unknown  to  mankind.  Now  that  it  has 
become  known,  it  is  found,  as  compared  with  the 
IVihle  system,  to  be  very  defective  and  erroneous. 
It  contains  nothing  of  value  which  is  not  better  ex- 
pressed in  the  Bible;  it  omits  many  important  truths 
and  duties  altogether;  and  it  enjoins  many  things 
that  are  pernicious,  outrageous,  and  abominable. 

3.  The  morality  of  the  Buddhists.  As  we  have  be- 
ibre  remarked.  Buddhism  is  of  Hindu  origin,  Gota- 
nia  its  founder  being  an  Indian  prince.  Though  it 
was  suppressed  in  the  land  of  its  birth,  it  exerts  a 
powerful  influence  over  millions  and  millions  of 
people  in  many  lands. 

The  primitive  Buddhists  ignored  or  denied  the 
fundamental  principles  of  morality  altogether.  Since 
Gotama  denied  the  existence  of  God  and  the  reality 
of  an  external  world,  his  moral  precepts  were  with- 
out authority.  Buddhism  acknowledges  really  no 
such  thing  as  moral  law  or  moral  obligation.  The 
only  obligation  which  it  recognizes  as  resting  on 
men  is  such  as  they  impose  on  themselves.  The 
Buddhists  believed  in  transmigration ;  and  that,  for 
sins  committed  in  this  life,  the  human  soul  may  be 
forced  after  death  to  inhabit  one  of  the  lower  ani- 
mals; and  that,  by  the  performance  of  meritorious 
deeds  in  this  life,  a  man  may  raise  himself  to  the 
condition  of  a  god  hereafter.     They  regarded  desire, 


COMPARED   WITH   OTHER   SYSTEitS.  315 

affection,  thought,  all  mental  activity,  as  the  source 
of  evil;  and  hence  they  placed  beatitude  in  the  de- 
struction of  all  thoughts  and  desires.  But  this  could 
only  be  by  the  cessation  of  all  existence.  Hence 
their  whole  moral  system  had  for  its  ultimate  object 
the  final  annihilation  of  the  soul.  They  did  not 
regard  sin  as  a  pollution,  but  as  an  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  reaching  Nirvanaj  nothingness.  Vice  was 
merely  a  misfortune.  Virtue  was  the  means  of 
^crossing  to  the  other  shore.'  Charity,  humility,  pa- 
tience, and  other  virtues,  were  to  be  cultivated  and 
practised,  not  as  good  in  themselves,  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  doing  good,  but  as  the  means  of  self-annihi- 
lation. Hence  Buddhism  as  a  moral  system  was  a, 
vast  scheme  of  profits  and  losses.  Its  highest  motive, 
and  its  only  motive,  was  selfishness.  The  acquire- 
ment of  merit  by  the  Buddhist,  says  Spence  Hardy, 
is  as  mercenary  an  act  as  the  toils  of  the  merchant  to 
secure  the  possession  of  wealth.^ 

The  idea  that  all  sin  originates  in  desire  and  in- 
clination leads  to  asceticism.  It  was  thought  that 
austerities  and  penances  tended  to  the  destruction  of 
all  desire  and  inclination,  and  therefore  were  meri- 
torious. Hence  Buddha's  disciples  were  required  to 
clothe  themselves  in  rags,  live  in  forests  and  without 
shelter,  sleep  without  lying  down,  and  to  afflict 
themselves  in  various  other  ways.  Hence,  too,  vir- 
tue was  to  be  practised  not  merely  a*s  laying  up  a 
stock  of  merit,  but  also  as  a  means  of  self-mortifica- 
tion.    For  the  same  reason,  the  charity  which  would 

*  Manual  of  Buddhism,  p.  508. 


316  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

lead  a  man  to  oifcr  his  body  as  food   to  a  starving 
tiirer,  was  commended  as  heroic  and  meritorious. 

Such  being  the  ideas  embraced  in  the  system  of 
Buddhism,  we  would  naturally  suppose  that  its  ad- 
herents could  hardly  be  anything  else  than  monsters 
of  vice.  We  would  think  that  their  atheism,  their 
disbelief  in  the  existence  of  a  real  world,  their  hoping 
for  and  seeking  after  the  annihilation  of  their  souls 
and  bodies,  their  exaltation  of  the  merit  of  human 
actions  and  self-mortification, — these  mad  specula- 
tions and  notions,  one  would  think,  would  have 
utterly  degraded  and  debased  their  ideas  on  all 
moral  subjects.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  many  of  their 
moral  prece})ts  are  excellent;  and  Buddhism  as  a 
system  of  morality  is  perhaps  second  only  to  that  of 
the  Bible.  It  commended  charity,  modesty,  patience, 
and  courage.  Humility,  which  has  been  supposed  by 
many  to  be  exclusively  a  Christian  virtue,  was  em- 
braced in  it.  Its  founder  ignored  caste,  and  taught 
the  equality  of  all  men.  He  also  taught  religious 
toleration.  Like  the  Hebrews,  the  Buddhists  had  a 
decalogue.  Their  ten  commandments  are  as  follows : 
(1)  Not  to  kill;  (2)  Not  to  steal;  (3)  Not  to  commit 
adultery;  (4)  Not  to  lie;  (5)  Not  to  get  intoxicated  ; 
(6)  Not  to  eat  solid  food  after  mid-day;  (7)  Not  to 
attend  upon  theatrical  amusements,  music,  and  danc- 
ing; (8)  Not  to  use  personal  ornaments  and  per- 
fumes; (9)  Not  to  have  large  or  honorable  seats  and 
beds;  (10)  Not  to  receive  gold  or  silver.  This  code, 
though  perhaps  not  equalled  by  anything  produced 
among  the  heathen,  is  much  inferior  to  the  Deca- 
logue of  Moses. 


COMPARED    WITH    OTHER   SYSTEMS.  317 

(1)  The  Buddhist  code  makes  no  reference  to  the 
duties  which  men  owe  to  God.  Its  author  and 
those  to  whom  it  was  given  denied  that  there  is  a 
God  in  heaven.  (2)  These  ten  commandments  are 
merely  negative.  They  point  out  no  duties  to  be 
performed,  but  merely  acts  to  be  avoided.  They 
were  intended  to  be  subsidiary  to  the  destroying  of 
desire  and  attachment,  and  were  denominated  Hhe 
ten  precepts  of  aversion.'  The  ten  commandments 
of  the  Hebrews,  though  some  of  them  are  negative 
in  form,  enjoin  positive  duties.  They  are  the  carry- 
ing out  of  the  two  great  commandments,  which 
require  a  man  to  love  God  supremely  and  his  neigh- 
bor as  himself.  (3)  Five  of  the  Buddhist  precepts 
were  for  professed  disciples  only.  Only  the  first 
five  were  considered  binding  on  all  men.  These 
five  negative  commands — commands  which  declare 
merely  what  a  man  ought  not  to  do — express  the 
Buddhist  idea  of  human  responsibility  and  duty. 
How  much  more  exalted  is  the  Bible  idea  of  the 
whole  duty  of  man!  (4)  The  Buddhist  code  errs  by 
excess,  as  well  as  defect.  The  first  precept,  for  in-  ( 
stance,  not  to  kill,  includes  all  animal  life.  This  re- 
sulted from  the  doctrine  of  transmiorration :  beasts, 
birds,  reptiles,  and  insects  being  considered  as  ani- 
mated by  human  souls  that  had  sinned  in  a  previous 
state  of  existence.  Hence  the  first  commandment 
of  the  Buddhists  ))rohibited  the  taking  of  the  life  of 
anything — man,  beast,  bird,  reptile,  or  insect.  Tiie 
natural  result  of  such  an  enactment  was,  the  disre- 
gard of  human  life.  Such  a  law  is  worse  than  no 
law  at  all.  It  is  not  surprising  to  learn,  that  among 
27* 


318  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

the  Buddhists  the  life  of  a  man  is  no  more  regarded 
than  the  life  of  an  ox.  (5)  Every  one  of  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  second  table  of  the  Buddhist  code  pro- 
hibits as  pernicious  and  sinful  wliatis  really  harmless 
and  proper.  The  sixth  commandment  forbids  par- 
taking of  food  in  the  afternoon.  This  ascetic  rule 
is  unreasonable.  Common  sense  teaches  that  it  is 
just  as  ])roper  to  eat  after  mid- day  as  before  it. 
The  seventh  commandment,  among  things  that  are 
^vrong,  forbids  music  and  songs — another  unreason- 
able ascetic  prohibition.  So  also  the  eight,  ninth, 
and  tenth  precepts  err  by  excess,  prohibiting  per- 
sonal ornaments  and  perfumes,  large  beds  and  seats, 
and  the  use  of  money.  ^The  twelve  observances,' 
designed  for  those  who  were  still  further  advanced 
in  the  religious  life,  erred  still  farther  in  the  same 
direction;  requiring  the  devotee,  as  we  have  before 
remarked,  to  live  without  shelter,  fire,  or  bed;  to 
clothe  himself  in  rags  ;  to  eat  only  one  meal  a  day 
and  in  the  fore-noon ;  to  beg  his  food ;  and  to  sleep 
without  lying  down,  and  with  his  back  against  a 
tree. 

It  is  seen,  therefore,  that  Buddhism,  though  a 
revolt  against  Brahminism,  had  much  in  common 
with  it.  The  doctrine  of  transmigration,  asceticism, 
self-mortification,  the  meritoriousncss  of  ceremonial 
performances  as  well  as  of  acts  of  charity  and  se^lf- 
denial,  and  the  possibility  of  securing  future  blessed- 
ness by  living  like  savages  and  dogs  on  earth,  are 
taught  in  both  systems.  There  is  but  one  step  from 
the  idea  of  Brahm — the  inactive,  sleeping  God — as 
held  by  the  Brahmins,  to  the  atheism  of  the  Budd- 


COMPARED    WITH    OTHER   SYSTEMS.  319 

hists.  The  Bucklliistic  disbelief  in  the  reality  of  the 
external  world,  goes  only  a  little  beyond  the  con- 
temptuous regard  of  the  Brahmins  for  present  and 
visible  things.  Nirvana  is  but  the  carrying  out 
of  the  Brahminic  idea,  that  blessedness  consists  in 
apathy,  repose,  absorption  of  conscious  existence  into 
the  Almighty  Spirit.  Besides  this,  many  of  the  im- 
moral regulations  and  customs  which  the  founder 
of  Buddhism  found  existing  among  the  Hindus,  he 
adopted  into  his  own  system,  or  at  least  tacitly  ap- 
proved of  them. 

The  inferiority  of  Buddhism  as  a  moral  system  to 
Christianity,  is  unquestionably  and  immeasurably 
great.  Were  any  man,  in  a  country  enlightened  by 
Christianity,  to  advocate  the  moral  ideas  of  Buddha, 
and  to  practise  according  to  his  ten  precepts  and 
twelve  observances,  he  would  be  universally  and  de- 
servedly regarded  as  a  lunatic,  a  savage,  or  a  mon- 
ster. 

4.  The  Persian  morality.  The  ancient  Persians 
believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  human  soul,  the 
accountability  of  men  to  their  Creator,  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  and  a  judgment 
after  death.  Yet  their  morality  was  very  defective. 
Their  moral  ideas  were  few  and  limited.  The  books 
prepared  for  their  instruction  contain,  indeed,  very 
little  elevated  sentiment  of  any  kind.  There  is 
more  of  elevated,  purifying  moral  sentiment  in  one 
of  the  Hebrew  Psalms,  or  a  chapter  of  the  Proverbs, 
than  we  have  been  able  to  discover  in  the  Yaena, 
Vendidad,  Yispered,  and  Khoda-avesta  together. 
Except  as  sources  of  information  in  regard  to  the 


320  MORAL  EXCELLENCE. 

beliefs  and  customs  of  the  ancient  Persians,  these 
books  are  worthless.  Their  recent  translation  into 
a  living  language  will  not  add  one  moral  idea  or 
truth  to  the  stock  already  possessed  by  mankind. 
They  contain  no  profound  utterances,  no  grand 
truths,  no  comprehensive  statements  of  duty,  no  far- 
reaching  principles.  They  omit  many  of  the  most 
important  virtues  and  duties, — such  as  supreme  love 
to  God,  repentance,  resignation,  gratitude,  humility, 
disinterested  and  self-sacrificing  benevolence,  com- 
j:)assion  to  the  poor  and  miserable,  kindness  to  wid- 
ows and  orphans,  forbearance  and  forgiveness.  The 
universal  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  universal  broth- 
erhood of  men  are  not  recosrnized  in  these  old  wri- 
tincrs.  The  duties  which  arise  out  of  the  relations 
of  men  to  society,  government,  and  to  one  another, 
are  not  mentioned.  We  do  not  assert  that  all  these 
important  virtues,  duties,  and  principles  were  un- 
known to  the  ancient  Persians  and  their  teachers. 
Doubtless  they  had  some  knowledge  of  some  of 
them.  But  the  omission  of  all  mention  of  them  in 
their  writings  constitutes,  so  far  as  systematic  mor- 
ality is  concerned,  a  radical  and  fatal  defect.  The 
great  amount  of  frivolous  matter  contained  in  these 
writings  makes  it  still  more  evident  how  limited, 
meagre,  and  barren  were  the  moral  ideas  and  doc- 
trines of  their  authors.  There  is  more  said  in  the 
Avesta  about  dogs,  and  the  proper  way  of  treating 
them,  than  about  kindness  to  the  poor  and  the  un- 
fortunate. There  is  more  said  about  agriculture 
than  about  justice  and  benevolence,  or  the  duties 
which  men  owe  to  God  and  to  one  another.     The 


COMPARED   WITH   OTHER   SYSTEMS.  321 

first,  second,  and  third  thing  declared  most  accepta- 
ble to  Ahura-mazda  pertains  to  husbandry.  The 
beau-ideal  of  human  character  among  the  ancient 
Persians  was,  a  thrifty  farmer  and  cattle-raiser,  who 
had  one  or  more  prolific  wives  and  plenty  of  dogs. 
In  the  early  period  of  their  history,  they  were  an 
agricultural  people,  and  perhaps  were  generally 
peaceful  and  industrious.  Of  a  higher  order  of 
morality  they  seem  to  have  had  no  idea.  Schlegel 
expresses  the  opinion  that  the  intellectual  religion 
of  the  Persians  deserves  to  rank  next  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith  and  doctrine.^  However  it  may  be  in  re- 
gard to  their  religion,  their  morality  was  certainly 
inferior  to  that  of  the  Buddhists.  In  addition  to  its 
authorizing  polygamy,  the  intermarriage  of  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  other  evils, — it  failed  to  inculcate 
many  of  the  higher  virtues  and  duties  of  men.  In 
the  latter  respect  it  fell  much  below  Buddhism; 
and  immeasurably  below  the  moral  system  of  the 
Bible. 

5.  The  Chinese  morality.  In  speaking  of  the  Chi- 
nese theology  as  expounded  by  Confucius,  we  showed 
that  there  was  a  tendency  in  it  to  atheism.  By  his 
disuse  of  the  personal  name  of  God  and  in  other 
ways,  he  discountenanced  belief  in  men's  accounta- 
bility to  Him.  He  refused  to  express  any  opinion 
in  regard  to  the  existence  of  men  after  death,  thus 
indicating  that  he  at  least  doubted  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  He  ignored  the  doctrine  of  future  re- 
wards and  punishments.  His  moral  principles  were 
^  Aesthetic  and  Misc.  Works,  B.  2,  ch.  4. 


322  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

mere  ^ rules  of  propriety/  having  no  higher  author- 
ity and  sanctions  than  the  usages  of  former  times. 
Dr.  Legge  says,  'This  propriety  was  a  great  stum- 
bling-block in  the  way  of  Confucius.  His  morality 
was  the  result  of  the  balancings  of  his  intellect,  fet- 
tered by  the  decisions  of  men  of  old;  and  not  the 
gushings  of  a  loving  heart,  responsive  to  the  prompt- 
ings of  heaven,  and  in  sympathy  with  erring  and 
feeble  humanity.'^  Beside  destroying  the  founda- 
tions of  morality  in  the  minds  of  his  disciples  and 
worshi])pers,  he  was  characterized  by  Chinese  exclu- 
siveness  and  bigotry.  He  did  not  teach  that  God  is 
the  Father  of  all  men.  He  did  not  recoo-nize  the 
paternal  character  of  God  at  all.  He  denied,  or  at 
least  ignored,  the  universal  brotherhood  and  equal- 
ity of  men.  His  'rules  of  propriety'  were  designed 
only  for  his  countrymen.  Among  the  Chinese  even, 
he  recognized  but  'five  relations  of  society,'  viz.  the 
relation  of  sovereign  and  minister,  father  and  son, 
husband  and  wife,  elder  brother  and  younger,  and 
friend  to  friend.  He  confined  the  application  of  his 
'rules  of  propriety'  to  these  five  relations,  main- 
taining that  all  moral  duties  arise  out  of  these  re- 
lations, and  that  the  faithful  discharge  of  these 
duties  would  secure  peace  and  happiness  'all  under 
heaven,'" — that  is,  througliout  tlie  Chinese  empire. 
From  these  facts  it  is  seen  that  the  Confucian  mor- 
ality must  be  narrow  and  superficial.  Accordingly 
we  find  it  contains  no  deep  utterances;  no  grand, 
comprehensive,   far-reaching  truths;    nothing   com- 

^  Life  and  Teaching  of  Confucius,  p.  113. 
'Legge's  Confucius,  p.  104. 


COMPARED   WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  o'26 

parable  to  the  depth,  power,  and  beauty  of  the  mor- 
al teachings  of  the  Bible. 

It  has  often  been  said,  that  Confucius  anticipated 
the  Golden  Rule.  He  did  indeed  enunciate  some- 
thing similar  to  it — ^What  you  do  not  want  done 
to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others.'^  Dr.  Legge  very 
properly  calls  attention  to  the  negative  character  of 
this  rule.  It  only  forbids  men  to  do  what  they  feel 
to  be  wrong  and  hurtful.  It  requires  the  perform- 
ance of  no  duty,  but  merely  abstinence  from  doing 
injuries.  The  command  of  Christ  is  positive,  re- 
quiring men  to  do  w^hatever  they  feel  to  be  good 
and  right — ^All  things  whatsoever  ye  w^ould  that 
men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.' 
Christ's  rule  is  for  all  men  under  all  circumstances. 
The  dictum  of  Confucius  was  deliv^ered  only  to  the 
Chinese  for  their  guidance  in  the  five  relations  of 
society.  As  it  respects  the  question  of  priority, 
though  Confucius  was  before  Christ,  the  latter  says 
in  regard  to  his  rule,  Hhis  is  the  law  and  the  proph- 
ets.'^ He  only  announced  the  truth  that  had  been 
in  substance  taught  by  the  Hebrew  teachers  long 
before. 

It  has  also  been  said  that  Confucius  taught  the 
duty  of  forgiveness,  and  repaying  injury  with  kind- 
ness. In  truth,  however,  he  inculcated  a  revenge- 
ful spirit.  When  asked  what  he  thought  of  the 
principle  of  recompensing  injury  with  kindness,  he 
repHed;  'With  what,  then,  will  you  recompen.se 
kindness?    Recompense  injury  with  justice,  and  rec- 

*  Legge's  Confucius,  p.  111-12.     Ana.  15 :  23.     ^  Mat.  7 :  1 2. 


324  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

ompense  kindness  with  kindness/^  Another  of  his 
declarations  was,  that  ^He  who  returns  good  for  evil 
is  a  man  who  is  careful  of  his  person.'  In  regard  to 
the  murderer  of  a  father,  mother,  brother,  or  other 
near  relative,  he  affirmed  the  duty  of  blood-revenge 
in  the  strongest  terms.  The  bad  eiFects  of  this  teach- 
ing are  said  to  be  evident  in  China  even  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  The  revengeful  disposition  of  the  Chinese 
keeps  whole  districts  in  a  constant  state  of  feud  and 
warfare.^ 

In  regard  to  some  of  the  duties  of  ^the  five  re- 
lations of  society,'  Confucius  taught  very  serious 
errors.  He  maintained  that  women  should  be  kept 
in  an  abject  condition — that  a  woman  when  young 
must  obey  her  father  and  elder  brother;  when  mar- 
ried, her  husband ;  when  a  widow,  her  son :  that  she 
may  not  think  of  marrying  a  second  time;  that  her 
business  is  simply  the  preparation  of  food  and  wine; 
that  she  should  not  be  known  beyond  the  threshold 
of  her  own  apartments;  and  that  she  must  not  come 
to  any  conclusion  on  her  own  deliberation.  ^He 
taught  that  a  wife  might  be  divorced  for  seven  rea- 
sons [of  these,  however,  our  author  specifies  only 
six], — disobedience  to  her  husband's  parents;  not 
giving  birth  to  a  son;  dissolute  conduct;  jealousy 
of  her  husband's  attentions  to  other  inmates  of  the 
harem;  talkativeness;  and  thieving.  These  reasons, 
however,  might  be  over-ruled  by  three  considera- 
tions,— first,  if  the  wife,  while  taken  from  a  home, 
has  no  home  to  return  to;  second,  if  she  has  passed 

^  Legge's  Confucius,  p.  113-14. 


COMPARED   WITH    OTHER   SYSTEMS.  325 

with  her  husband  the  three  years'  mourning  for 
his  parents;  third,  if  her  husband  has  risen  from 
poverty  to  wealth.^  The  assigning  as  reasons  for 
divorce  lier  not  giving  birth  to  a  son  and  talkativeness j 
indicates  an  utter  disregard  for  the  importance  and 
sacredness  of  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife.  He 
spoke  of  the  faithfulness  of  husband  and  wife  among 
the  common  people,  when  the  husband  takes  no 
concubine,  as  *  small  fidelity.'^  It  appears  that  he 
treated  his  own  wife  with  indifference,  and  finally 
divorced  her.  He  treated  his  son  with  dio-nified 
and  distant  reserve,  manifesting  but  little  affection 
for  him.^  It  appears,  too,  that  he  was  guilty  of  in- 
sincerity and  untruthfulness.  He,  indeed,  taught 
that  sincerity  and  truthfulness  are  important  duties, 
but  he  regarded  deceit  as  not  inconsistent  w^ith  them. 
He  feigned  sickness  in  order  to  excuse  himself  from 
seeing  an  unwelcome  visitor.^  He  also  deliberately 
violated  his  oath,  and  afterward  justified  himself  in 
doing  so.  Being  taken  prisoner  on  his  way  to  the 
city  of  AYei,  he  was  released  on  making  promise  by 
oath  that  he  would  not  proceed  to  that  city.  This 
oath  he  violated.  On  being  asked  whether  this  per- 
jury was  right,  he  replied,  ^It  was  a  forced  oath. 
The  spirits  do  not  hear  such.'^  Confucius  was  by 
no  means  the  sincere,  frank,  truthful  man  whom  the 
Christian  morality  teaches  us  to  admire.  This  error 
in  the  example  of  Confucius,  and  this  evil  trait  in 
his  character,  have  a  very  pernicious  influence  in 
China  to  this  day.     Foreigners  complain  of  habitual 

^  Legge's  Confucius,  p.  106.        ^  Ana.  14:  18. 
3 17 :  20.        *  Life  of  Confucius,  p.  102. 
28 


326  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

deceitfulness  on  the  part  of  the  Government  and  the 
people  in  general. 

It  is  thus  seen,  that  the  Confucian  morality 
was  very  defective  and  erroneous.  It  denied  the 
great  truths  which  arm  morality  with  authority  and 
power.  It  rested  on  mere  custom,  propriety,  and 
expediency.  It  took  a  very  narrow  and  superfi- 
cial view  of  human  relations  and  duties.  It  taught 
revenge  as  a  duty,  encouraged  deceit,  degraded  wo- 
men, justified  almost  unlimited  divorce,  and  approv- 
ed of  concubinage.  Such  was  the  Chinese  morality, 
as  improved  and  expounded  by  their  greatest  teach- 
er. It  will  not  bear  comparison  with  the  broad, 
deep,  lofty  morality  of  the  Bible. 

6.  The  Grecian  morality.  The  morality  of  the 
Greeks  is  presented  in  its  best  form  by  their  philos- 
ophers. Socrates,  who  was  perhaps  the  best  of  all 
the  heathen  philosophers,  taught  the  existence  of 
God  (or  rather  of  many  gods),  the  accountability  of 
men,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  future  retri- 
bution. A  short  time  before  his  death,  he  expressed 
a  hope  that  his  soul  would  go  into  the  presence  of  a 
good  and  wise  god.^  Yet  the  doctrines  of  immortal- 
ity and  retributioi^  were  obscured  and  enfeebled  in 
his  hands  by  the  absurdities  of  transmigration.  He 
declared  it  probable  that  the  souls  of  those  who  gave 
themselves  up  to  gluttony  and  wantonness,  will  after 
death  enter  the  bodies  of  asses  and  similar  animals; 
that  the  souls  of  those  who  practise  injustice,  tyr- 
anny, and    rapine   will    enter    wolves,   hawks,  and 

'  Phffido,  68. 


COMPARED  WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  327 

kites;  that  souls  which  practise  temperance  and  jus- 
tice, without  philosophy  and  reflection,  will  migrate 
into  bees,  wasps,  ants,  or  into  human  bodies  again; 
and  that  the  souls  of  philosophers,  the  true  lovers  of 
wisdom,  will  pass  into  the  rank  of  the  gods.^  Such 
views  are  certainly  not  calculated  to  restrain  vice  or 
stimulate  virtue.  The  belief  that  a  man  may  secure 
his  transformation  at  death  into  a  wasp  or  ant  by  the 
practice  of  justice  and  temperance,  and  that  unjust 
and  tyrannical  men  will  probably  be  changed  into 
wolves  or  hawks,  cannot  have  much  restraining  or 
purifying  influence,  since  men  would  about  as  lief 
be  changed  into  beasts  or  birds  .as  into  insects. 

In  regard  to  many  moral  questions  Socrates  held 
very  erroneous  opinions.  He  is  brought  forward  by 
Plato  as  the  advocate  of  slavery,  community  of  wives 
and  children,  the  training  of  women  for  war,  the  co- 
habitation of  brothers  with  sisters,  the  appearance  of 
men  and  women  together  naked  in  public,  abortion, 
infanticide,  and  all  the  immoralities  and  indecencies 
that  are  proposed  in  Plato's  Republic,  of  which  we 
will  soon  make  more  particular  mention.  Perhaps 
he  should  not  be  charged  with  all  the  opinions  of 
which  he  is  represented  in  that.  Tt^ork  as  the  advo- 
cate. Yet  Aristotle  quotes  the  Republie  and  the 
Laws  as  containing  his  well  known  sentiments.  He 
even  refers  to  these  works  as  the  productions  of  Soc- 
rates.^ He  mentions  expressly  his  advocacy  of  the 
community  of  wives  and  children,  and  the  training 
of  women  for  war.     Doubtless  he  held  in  the  main 

»  Phaedo,  70-71.  'Pol.  2:  2-7. 


328  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

the  immoral  opinions  attributed  to  him,  and  that 
Plato  represents  his  revered  master  as  saying  noth- 
ing inconsistent  with  his  known  sentiments  and 
character.  His  regard  for  modesty  and  chastity 
was  certainly  not  very  high.  He  visited  the  cour- 
tesan Theodota,  and  gave  her  directions  how  to  se- 
cure the  greatest  success  in  her  wicked  course.^  He 
was  on  friendly  terms  with  Aspasia,  the  paramour 
of  Pericles.^  He  disapproved  of  a  Corinthian  girl 
as  a  mistress  merely  on  the  score  of  health.  He  is 
said  to  have  loaned  his  wife  Xantippe  to  Alcibiades. 
He  spoke  of  licentious  indulgence  on  the  part  of  men 
as  a  matter  of  inclination  and  choice.^ 

Plato  held  the  views  in  regard  to  immortality, 
accountability,  future  retribution,  and  transmigra- 
tion, which  he  attributes  to  Socrates.  His  views, 
however,  in  regard  to  transmigration  and  retribu- 
tion were  still  more  fanciful  and  absurd.  He  held 
that  timid  and  unjust  men  are  in  their  second  gener- 
ation changed  into  women  ;  that  men  without  vice, 
but  light-minded  and  curious  about  things  above, 
are  changed  into  birds;  that  men  who  make  no  use 
of  philosophy  and  never  inquire  into  the  nature  of 
the  universe,  are  changed  into  quadruped  and  mul- 
tiped animals  with  feet  and  head  turned  toward  the 
earth;  and  that  the  most  unthinking  and  ignorant 
are  changed  into  fishes  and  other  aquatic  animals.* 
Suck  views  as  these,  so  far  as  their  influence  upon 
tl^ character  and  conduct  of  men  is  concerned,  arc 
v^Bp  better  than  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's  annihila- 

▼       ^  Mem.  3:  11.  '  Pint,  in  vita  Periclis. 

='Mem.  2:  2.  *  Tim.  72-3. 


COMPAKED    AVITH    OTHER   SYSTEMS.  329 

tion.  To  teach  that  timid  and  unjust  men  will  be 
changed  after  death  into  women  as  a  punishment  for 
their  sins,  and  that  the  unphilosophical  class  (which 
embraces  the  vast  majority  of  mankind)  will  be 
changed  into  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping  things, 
is  to  make  a  mockery  of  immortality,  accountability, 
and  retribution.  Plato's  representations  might  al- 
most be  taken  as  a  burlesque  upon  these  doctrines. 
His  opinions  on  many  points  of  practical  morality 
were  very  erroneous.  He  taught,  and  he  represents 
Socrates  as  teaching,  that  slavery  is  lawful  and  de- 
sirable; that  agriculture  should  be  committed  to 
slaves,  and  that  all  classes  of  foreigners  might  be 
enslaved/  that  women  as  well  as  men  should  be 
trained  to  war;  and  that  men  and  women  should 
appear  together  naked  in  gymnastic  exercises.  The 
reason  assigned  by  him  for  this  mingling  of  the  sexes 
was,  that  male  and  female  dogs  are  employed  to- 
gether in  watching  and  hunting.  The  supposed  in- 
decency of  men  and  women  appearing  naked  to- 
gether in  public  was  in  his  view  the  result  of  mere 
prejudice.^  He  also  taught  as  follows:  that  wives 
and  children  should  be  common,  and  that  parents 
and  children  should  not  know  each  other;  that  chil- 
dren should  be  taken  with  their  parents  to  war  so  as 
to  be  inured  as  soon  as  possible  to  danger  and  car- 
nage; that  the  best  men  should  as  often  as  possible 
form  alliances  with  the  best  women,  in  order  that,  as 
in  the  case  of  dogs  and  birds,  the  breed  may  be  im- 
proved; that  worthy  young  men  should  be  allowed 
1  Laws,  7:  13;  Rep.  5:  15.  ^Rep.  5:  3. 
28* 

f 


330  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

ample  liberty  of  access  to  women  as  a  reward  for 
their  virtue,  and  in  order  that  tlie  greatest  number 
of  children  may  be  born  of  good  parentage;  that  the 
children  of  worthy  persons  should  be  carefully  nur- 
tured, but  in  such  a  way  that  no  mother  should  rec- 
ognize her  own  child ;  that  the  children  of  depraved 
parents,  and  maimed  and  lame  children,  should  be 
destroyed  by  the  public  guardians;  that  children 
should  be  born  of  women  from  the  age  of  twenty  to 
forty,  and  of  men  from  the  age  of  thirty  to  forty- 
five;  that  men  over  forty-five  and  women  over  forty 
should  *be  common  to  one  another;  that  abortion  or 
exposure  should  be  employed  to  destroy  the  children 
begotten  by  parents  over  the  prescribed  age;  and 
that,  as  drugs  were  trusted  to  physicians  while  pri- 
vate persons  were  not  allowed  to  meddle  with  them, 
so  governors  might  practise  lying  for  the  good  of 
the  state,  though  private  citizens  should  be  truth- 
ful.^ He  approved  of  the  cohabitation  of  brothers 
and  sisters.  He  also  in  reality  approved  of  the  co- 
habitation of  fathers  with  daughters,  and  of  sons 
with  mothers.  For  in  his  model  republic,  parents 
are  not  to  know  their  own  children,  and  relatives 
are  such  only  by  adoption.^  He  advised,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  husbands  and  wives  acquainted 
with  one  another  before  marriage,  that  young  men 
and  maidens  should  often  meet  in  sports  and  dances 
without  clothing.^  These  views  need  no  comment. 
They  are  beastly  and  abominable.  If  carried  out, 
they  would  degrade  the  citizen   into  a  mere  tool  of 

Ulep.  3:  3;  5:  8-9.        ^Rep.  3:  3;  and  5:  7-14. 
'  Laws,  6 :  15. 


f 


COMPARED    WITH    OTHER   SYSTEMS.  331 

the  state,  abrogate  marriage,  overthrow  the  family 
institution,  desecrate  and  destroy  the  holiest  social 
ties  and  affections,  take  away  from  both  men  and 
women  all  modesty,  chastity,  and  decency,  and  in- 
troduce practices  known  only  among  brutes,  and 
practices  unknown  even  among  them.  Yet  these 
are  the  views  of  the  so-called  divine  Plato,  the. 
prince  of  philosophers;  who  reports  them  as  the 
views  of  Socrates,  the  wisest  and  the  best  of  the 
Greeks. 

Aristotle  went  farther  than  either  Socrates  or  Plato 
in  obscuring  and  nullifying  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  morality.  He  often  speaks  of  God  as  an 
eternal  and  immovable  suhstancCj  a  divine  esseiice, 
first  jjrincipley  and  by  other  words  which  represent 
Him  as  a  mere  entity  without  personality  and  attri- 
butes. He  presents  no  animating  views  of  God's 
character  or  providence.  Indeed  he  seems  to  deny, 
or  at  least  doubt,  that  God's  providence  extends  to 
the  earth,  or  that  he  takes  cognizance  of  the  actions 
of  men.  His  opinion  in  regard  to  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  appears  also  to  have  been  indefinite  and 
variable.  In  one  place  he  speaks  of  the  dead  as  still 
existing,  but  of  their  condition  as  doubtful.^  But 
in  another  place,  he  speaks  of  death  as  the  cessation 
of  existence.^  In  the  latter  place  his  language  seems 
to  imply  that  the  souls  of  the  dead  are  no  more.  At 
all  events,  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
in  the  writings  of  Aristotle  has  no  moral  power. 
He  makes  no  use  of  it  to  deepen  man's  sense  of  ac- 

^Eth.  1:  10-11.  2Eth.  3:  6. 


332  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

countability.  The  idea  of  future  retribution  is  not 
presented,  that  we  are  aware  of,  in  his  works.  Since 
the  ideas  of  God,  accountability,  immortality,  and 
retribution  have  so  deep  moral  significance,  exert  so 
much  influence  over  men's  moral  feelings,  and  arm 
conscience  and  right  with  so  much  power,  it  is  seen 
how  extremely  defective  the  moral  system  of  Aris- 
totle must  be.  He  sunk  below  the  beast-worship- 
pers of  ancient  Egypt  in  regard  to  the  fundamental 
ideas  of  morality. 

On  some  points  of  practical  morality,  he  held 
opinions  similar  to  those  of  Plato.  He  justified 
slavery  as  a  natural  and  just  institution.  His  defi- 
nition of  a  slave  is,  *a  tool  with  a  soul  in  it.'  He 
declared  that  the  ox  is  in  the  place  of  a  slave  to  the 
poor  man;  that  foreigners  should  serve  the  Greeks; 
that  a  foreigner  and  a  slave  are  by  nature  one  and 
the  same;  that  some  men  are  formed  slaves  by  na- 
ture, and  are  fitted  to  be  the  chattels  of  others;^  that 
slaves  may  be  used,  some  as  stewards  and  others  as 
drudges,^  and  that  all  husbandmen  should  be  made 
slaves,  and  be  so  treated  as  to  be  deprived  of  all 
spirit.^  He  also  prescribed  that  in  every  family 
only  a  certain  number  of  children,  fixed  by  law, 
should  be  allowed;  that  every  additional  child  born 
in  tlie  family  should  be  destroyed ;  and  that  every 
child  born  imperfect  or  maimed  should  be  disposed 
of  in  the  same  way;  or,  in  case  the  customs  and  feel- 
ings of  the  people  will  not  permit  the  destruction 
of  infants,  that  the  excess  of  j^opulation  should  be 
'  Pol.  1 :  2-5.        2  Econ.  1:5.        '  Pol.  7 :  10. 


COMPARED  WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  333 

prevented  by  the  use  of  abortion.^  He  calls  theft, 
adultery,  poisoning,  pandering,  enticing  away  of 
slaves,  assassination,  and  false  witness  involuntary 
actions,  on  the  ground  that  their  origin  is  involun- 
tary.^ He  maintains  further,  that  if  a  man  acts  not 
from  deliberate  preference,  but  from  passion,  he  is 
not  unjust  though  he  performs  an  unjust  act;  not  a 
thief,  though  he  steals;  not  an^ adulterer,  though 
he  commits  adultery.^  He,  however,  denominates 
as  unpardonable,  acts  performed  through  passion, 
neither  natural  nor  human.*  He  approves  of  re- 
venge, the  returning  of  evil  for  evil.  He  does  not 
justify  retaliation  under  all  circumstances.  For  ex- 
ample he  does  not  think  that  an  officer,  who  strikes 
some  one,  should  be  struck  in  turn.^  Yet  he  advo- 
cates the  retaliation  of  injuries  generally.  He  de- 
clares that  the  meek  man  errs  by  defect,  since  he  is 
not  inclined  to  reveno;e — but  to  foro^ive.^ 

Besides  these  and  other  errors  that  were  advocated 
by  the  Grecian  philosophers,  they  obscured  and  en- 
feebled moral  truth  by  their  manner  of  presenting 
it.  Their  wriRngs  are  metaphysical,  tedious,  prolix. 
Every  gem  they  contain  is  imbedded  in  a  heap  of 
rubbish.  What  little  genuine  moral  sentiment  they 
contain  is  surrounded  by  a  mass  of  definitions  and 
discussions  of  ideas,  essences,  entities  and  entelechies, 
that  bury  it  almost  out  of  sight.  We  scarcely  ever 
find  a  clear,  pithy,  comprehensive  sentence.  The 
depth,  strength,  and  earnestness  of  expression,  the 
fullness  of  meaning,  and  the  rich  profusion  of  soul- 

*Pol.7:16.     'Etli.5:2.     ^b\(S.     *5:8.     ^5:  4.     M:  5. 


334  MORAL,   EXCELLENCE. 

stirring  sentiment  and  just  maxims,  which  are  found 
in  the  Bible  are  altogether  wanting;  and  instead, 
we  have  definitions,  distinctions,  disquisitions,  and 
long-winded  illustrations.  Thus  the  very  manner 
of  presenting  moral  truth  that  characterizes  Aris- 
totle and  Plato,  and  also  Socrates  though  in  a  less 
degree,  places  them  as  moralists  much  below  the 
writers  of  the  Bible. 

Another  thing  which  places  these  philosophers  in 
a  still  more  unfavorable  light  is,  that  though  occu- 
pying the  position  of  moral  teachers,  they  acquiesced 
in  and  sanctioned  many  of  the  worst  immoralities 
that  prevailed  around  them.  That  great  immoral- 
ities, both  private  and  public,  prevailed  in  their 
time  is  well  known.  Un chastity  was  perhaps  the 
most  common  vice.  The  poet  Homer  represents  his 
*  godlike'  heroes  as  keeping  mistresses,  and  as  there- 
by doing  nothing  that  was  improper.  The  custom 
prevailed  in  later  times.  Pericles,  the  statesman, 
who  was  contemporary  with  Socrates,  had  Aspasia 
as  his  mistress.  Before  his  connection  with  her,  he 
had  parted  from  his  wife  by  mutui#  consent,  and 
she  had  been  married  to  another  man.  He  had  by 
liis  mistress  an  illegitimate  son,  who  is  said  to  have 
been  sold,  according  to  the  Athenian  law,  as  a  slave. 
Pericles  in  this  matter  did  nothing  contrary  to  law 
or  public  opinion.  The  practice  referred  to  was  al- 
lowed by  one  of  Solon's  laws.  Adultery  was  re- 
garded as  disgraceful  and  was  severely  punished; 
but  men  who  kept  mistresses  were  not  regarded  as 
adulterers.  Even  the  prostitutes  themselves  attain- 
ed to  high  consideration.     No  women  in  Greece  had 


COMPARED   WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  335 

SO  great  fame  or  influence  as  the  courtesans  Aspasia, 
Theodota,  Thargelia,  and  Thais.  After  the  death 
of  Pericles,  Aspasia  made  one  of  her  paramours, 
named  Lysicles,  the  most  considerable  man  in  Ath- 
ens. Socrates,  as  stated  above,  visited  both  Aspasia 
and  Theodota.  The  advice  which  he  gave  to  The- 
odota indicates  his  familiarity  with  unclean  passions 
and  practices.  Plato  in  his  Menexenus  represents 
him  as  calling  Aspasia  ^  my  mistress.'  We  have 
already  mentioned  that  he  is  said  to  have  loaned  his 
wife  to  Alcibiades;  and  that  he  disapproved  of  a 
Corinthian  mistress  on  the  score  of  health.  Plato 
kept  a  courtesan  named  Archianassa.  Aristotle 
married  or  lived  with  the  concubine  of  Hermias, 
while  Hermias  was  still  living.  Many  of  the  Athe- 
nian laW'S  in  regard  to  marriage  were  very  bad.  A 
man  might  marry  his  half-sister,  the  daughter  of 
his  father.  An  heiress  was  required  to  marry  a 
near  relative,  a  brother  or  uncle.  If  she  and  her 
husband  had  no  children,  she  was  allowed  to  cohabit 
with  any  of  her  husband's  kinsmen  whom  she  might 
select.  The  marriage  contract  was  voidable  by  the 
mutual  consent  of  husband  and  wife. 

The  dissoluteness  of  the  Spartans  was  still  more 
open  and  undisguised.  Many  great  immoralities 
were  established  among  them  by  law  and  oustoui. 
Young  men  and  women  were  required  to  engage 
together  naked  in  the  public  exercises,  and  to  dance 
together  naked  at  the  public  festivals.  Community 
of  wives  was  practised ;  husbands  loaned  their  wives 
to  one  another.  The  women  were  proverbially  dis- 
solute.    Aristotle  says  they   indulged    without   re- 


336  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

straint  in  every  impropriety.^  Feeble  infants  were 
thrown  into  a  cavern  near  the  mountain  of  Tayge- 
tus.  Slaves  received  a  certain  number  of  stripes 
every  day,  in  order  that  they  might  not  forget  their 
degraded  condition;  and  were  murdered  by  thou- 
sands, lest  they  should  become  so  numerous  as  to  en- 
danger the  state.  The  greatest  licentiousness,  how- 
ever, prevailed  at  Corinth.  In  the  temple  of  Venus 
in  that  city,  a  thousand  prostitutes  were  maintained; 
and  their  lewd  practices  were  regarded  as  honors 
paid  to  the  imaginary  goddess. 

Such  were  the  immoralities  of  the  laws,  customs, 
and  practices  of  the  Athenians  and  other  Grecians 
in  the  time  of  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle.  But 
in  regard  to  these  immoralities  they  were  silent. 
Instead  of  denouncing  and  opposing  the  licentious- 
ness and  corruptions  that  prevailed  around  them, 
they  reasoned  against  the  Sophists;  theorized  and 
disputed  about  ideas,  essences  and  substances;  or  ad- 
vocated slavery,  training  of  women  for  war,  com- 
munity of  wives,  and  the  slaughtering  of  feeble  and 
supernumerary  infants,  as  means  of  improving  so- 
ciety and  building  up  the  State. 

Such  was  the  morality  taught  and  practised  by  the 
best  and  most  gifted  of  the  Greeks.  The  best  treat- 
ises on  theoretical  and  practical  morality  furnished 
by  Greece,  ignore  or  obscure  the  great  fundamental 
ideas  of  morality;  are  destitute  of  moral  strength 
and  earnestness;  contain  no  grand  moral  utterances, 
nor  brief,  comprehensive,  far-reaching  statements  of 

^Pol.  2:  9. 


COMPARED   WITH   OTHER   SYSTEMS.  337 

truth;  and  advocate  many  things  so  base  and  atro- 
cious, that  we  scarcely  dare  mention  them.  Such 
are  the  moral  achievements  of  the  finest  philosophi- 
cal genius,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  the  world  has 
ever  produced. 

7.  The  Roman  morality.  The  Romans  adopted 
the  morality  as  well  as  the  literature  and  theology 
of  the  Greeks.  They  produced  nothing  better  than 
the  Memorabilia  and  the  Nicomachean  Ethics  unless 
it  be  the  moral  writings  of  Cicero;  who  was  an  eclec- 
tiCj  and  endeavored  to  bring  together  the  best  from 
all  systems  and  theories.  Like  an  artist  wdio  forms 
a  figure  of  associated  beauties, — taking  a  head  here, 
an  arm  there,  and  a  hand  yonder, — Cicero  appropri- 
ated whatever  seemed  to  him  true  and  p:ood  in  the 
writings  of  all  preceding  authors.  Yet  he  by  no 
means  presents  a  perfect  system.  In  his  treatise  on 
DutieSj  he  hurries  over  the  duties  of  men  toward  God 
without  telling  in  what  they  consist.  He  does  not 
teach  that  moral  duties  have  the  sanction  of  God's 
authority;  nor  that  men  should  imitate  his  charac- 
ter. His  standard  of  right  and  duty  is  the  honestum 
— the  honest  and  honorable.  The  idea  of  future 
retribution  is  scouted  by  him.  He  doubted  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul ;  but  thought  that  if  it  exists  at 
all  after  death,  it  must  be  happy.  Thus  he  neglect- 
ed, doubted,  or  denied  the  doctrines  which  have  so 
important  a  bearing  on  morality.  On  many  subjects 
his  opinions  were  very  erroneous.  He  speaks  of  Ly- 
curgus  as  the  inventor  of  a  most  admirable  and  bene- 
ficial system  of  jurisprudence,  without  expressing  any 
disapprobation  of  the  indecencies  and  immoralities 
29 


338  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

which  it  embraced.^  He  approved  of  slavery  as  nat- 
ural and  right.^  He  justified  the  enslavement  of 
the  common  people  according  to  the  Spartan  code; 
though  the  taking  of  the  lands  of  the  rich  to  be  cul- 
tivated by  them  he  condemned  as  unjust.^  He  also 
justified  suicide.  It  is  true  that  he  teaches  that  a 
man  should  not  depart  out  of  this  world  without  the 
command  of  God.  But  he  held  that  under  certain 
circumstances,  men  have  the  command  or  permission 
of  God  to  kill  themselves.  He  refers,  as  examples, 
to  Socrates  and  Cato;''  the  latter  of  whom  killed 
himself  with  his  sword.  He  teaches  that,  in  regard 
to  life,  the  same  law  should  be  observed  which  regu- 
lated the  banquets  of  the  Grecians — ^Let  a  man 
either  drink  or  depart' — and,  that  a  man  by  killing 
himself  may  avoid  the  misfortunes  which  he  cannot 
bear.^  Another  of  his  errors  was  the  approval  of 
the  retaliation  of  injuries.  He  thought,  indeed,  that 
it  might  be  sufficient  if  the  offender  would  repent 
and  not  repeat  the  injury;  but  at  the  same  time,  he 
approved  in  general  of  returning  evil  for  evil.^  He 
also  justified  hypocritical  formality  in  religion.  He 
did  not  believe  in  'the  rabble  of  gods'  worshipped 
by  the  Komans.  Like  many  modern  skeptics,  he 
denied  the  possibility,  or  at  least  the  credibility,  of 
the  supernatural.  Yet  he  enjoined  conformity  to 
custom,  law,  and  public  opinion;  declaring  that  the 
gods  accounted  celestial  ought  to  be  worshipped; 
and  that  divine  honors  should  be  paid  to  Hercules, 

1  Rep.  3:9.     ^  i :  43.     ^  3 :  0.     *  Tusc.  Quest.  1 :  30. 
^Tusc.  Quest.  5:  41.    « De  Offic.  1:  7;  3:  19. 


COMPARED  WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  339 

Komulus,  and  other  deified  men.^  He  did  not  be- 
lieve in  divination  and  augury;  but  he  directed  that 
there  should  be  public  augurs  to  examine  the  pre- 
sages and  auspices,  and  that  military  officers  and 
civil  rulers  should  be  guided  by  them.  He  himself 
held  the  office  of  augur,  and  declared  it  to  be  one  of 
the  greatest  and  most  important.^  In  thus  recom- 
mending hypocritical  conformity  to  custom  and  law 
in  regard  to  religion,  Cicero  followed  the  example  of 
preceding  and  contemporary  philosophers.  Yet  his 
conduct  was  very  reprehensible,  involving,  as  it  did, 
insincerity  and  falsehood.  Probably  the  most  griev- 
ous error  of  this  highly  gifted  man  was  his  justifica- 
tion of  sexual  impurity.  ^When  was  this  not  prac- 
tised? When  was  it  found  fault  with?  Can  the 
time  be  mentioned  when  this  practice,  which  is  now 
lawful,  was  not  accounted  so?'^ 

The  incompetency  of  Cicero  and  all  his  contem- 
poraries as  moral  teachers  is  shown,  by  their  ina- 
bility to  oppose  the  licentiousness  which  prevailed 
around  them.  The  morals  of  the  Romans  in  his 
time  were  most  deplorable.  Bribery,  fraud,  oppres- 
sion, slavery,  infanticide,  conjugal  infidelity,  pros- 
titution, sexual  uncleanness  of  every  kind,  vices 
too  indecent  to  be  mentioned,  prevailed  without  re- 
straint from  law  or  public  opinion.  Women  as  well 
as  men  were  destitute  of  honesty,  modesty,  and  de- 
cency. Women  of  the  higher  class  were  so  depraved 
and  licentious  that  men  were  unwilling  to  contract 
matrimony  with   them,  and   instead  of  wives  kept 

1  De  Leg.  2:8.      ^De  Leg.  2:12.      » Orat.  pro  Ccelio. 


340  MORAL  EXCELLENCE. 

mistresses  and  concubines — often  their  own  slaves. 
Women  desired  to  be  childless  in  order  that  they 
might  indulge  in  licentious  gratifications  without 
restraint.  The  government  put  a  premium  on  mar- 
riage, and  offered  rewards  to  women  who  had  many 
children.  Childless  women  were  forbidden  to  wear 
jewels.  Penalties  were  imposed  on  the  unmarried. 
But  all  efforts  to  correct  the  evil  by  legislation  were 
unavailing.  All  relish  for  domestic  happiness,  and 
all  pure  love  between  the  sexes,  w^ere  destroyed. 
Virgins  practised  shameful  indecencies.  Gentlemen 
and  ladies  went  to  the  bath  together.  To  behold 
naked  exhibitions,  men  without  clothing  stabbing 
and  killing-  one  another,  the  blood  spouting,  and 
the  dead  and  dying  dragged  by  hooks  out  of  the 
arena,  was  the  amusement  of  both  sexes  and  of  all 
classes.  Triumphs  and  holidays  were  celebrated 
with  human  blood  and  butchery;  and  at  the  sight 
of  death-wounds,  and  of  prostrate,  bleeding,  gasp- 
ing forms,  the  amphitheatre  resounded  with  shouts 
and  cheers,  and  women  and  girls  laughed  and  clap- 
ped their  hands.  Drunkenness,  gluttony,  adultery, 
incest,  murder,  and  crimes  that  must  not  be  named, 
became  so  common  that  they  ceased  to  be  disgrace- 
ful. That  this  picture  is  not  overdrawn  can  be 
shown  by  a  short  quotation  from  Tacitns,  who 
speaks  of  ^  the  ceremonies  of  religion  violated  ;  enor- 
mous adulteries;  the  sea  crowded  with  exiles;  the 
rocks  stained  with  the  blood  of  murdered  citizens; 
E,ome  itself  a  theatre  of  still  greater  horrors;  there 
nobility  and  wealth  marked  men  out  for  destruction; 
di<ruities  received  and  declined   were  alike  treated 


COMPARED   WITH  OTHER  SYSTEMS.  341 

as  crimes;  virtue  was  the  cause  of  certain  ruin; 
informers  received  for  their  detestable  acts  wages 
equally  detestable;  rapacious  men  seized  priesthoods 
and  consulates  as  lawful  prey ;  procurators  and  offi- 
cers, impelled  by  personal  hate,  and  armed  with 
terror,  carried  rapine  and  plunder  in  every  direc- 
tion. Slaves  were  suborned  against  their  masters; 
freedmen  betrayed  their  patrons;  and  he  who  had 
no  enemy  died  by  the  treachery  of  friends.'^  The 
monstrous  depravity  and  corruption  of  Roman  so- 
ciety would  be  incredible,  were  they  not  attested  by 
the  unimpeachable  history  of  the  times.  These  evils 
had  not  indeed  reached  their  height  in  Cicero's  day. 
Murder  and  other  crimes  of  violence  were  not  so 
common  at  the  time  he  wrote  his  books  as  they 
afterward  became.  But  the  overflowing  tide  of  vice 
had  then  set  in,  and  he  did  not  resist  it.  It  was 
not  in  him  to  resist  it.  He  had  not  the  elements  of 
a  moral  reformer.  He  had  no  great  moral  ideas  or 
principles  with  which  to  reform  society.  He  had 
not  the  moral  nerve  and  earnestness  to  oppose  the 
growing  profligacy,  venality,  sensuality,  prostitution, 
and  other  vices  and  crimes,  which  prevailed  around 
him ;  and  which  afterward  produced  the  violence, 
bloodshed,  outrages,  murders,  and  horrors  referred 
to  above.  Neither  he  nor  any  of  his  contemporaries 
had  the  courage  or  the  ability  to  enunciate  great, 
soul-stirring,  moral  principles,  that  would  check  out- 
bursting  crime  and  regenerate  society.  In  moral 
daring,  force,  and  earnestness;  in  the  enunciation  of 
^Tac.  His.  1:  2. 
29* 


342  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

great,  restraining,  and  regenerating  ideas;  in  deal- 
ing with  a  corrupt  age,  and  in  resisting  the  on- 
ward-sweeping tide  of  immorality ;  they  are  not  to 
be  compared  with  the  Hebrew  teachers — not  with 
the  Old  Testament  prophets — much  less  with  Jesus 
and  his  apostles. 

Thus  we  have  in  Cicero  an  illustration  of  the 
complete  failure  of  the  Roman  morality.  He  was 
the  most  gifted  and  learned  and  best  writer  on  mor- 
als that  Rome  produced.  Yet,  through  ignorance 
and  misapprehension,  he  failed  to  present,  or  to  pre- 
sent in  an  effective  way,  those  great  truths  concern- 
ing God's  character  and  providence — the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  divine  retribution,  and  human  account- 
ability— which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  true  re- 
ligion and  morality,  and  which  are  necessary  to  arm 
moral  law  with  authority  and  power.  He  went 
grievously  astray  in  approving  slavery,  revenge,  sui- 
cide, infanticide,  religious  hypocrisy,  sexual  impuri- 
ty, and  other  moral  evils.  He  did  not  resist  the  over- 
flowing vices  and  crimes  around  him;  but  connived 
at  and  fell  in  with  them.  As  a  moralist,  he  made 
no  impression  on  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  His 
treatises  on  morality  are  read  only  by  scholars,  and 
are  valuable  mainly  for  their  literary  excellence, 
and  as  showing  how  defective  and  erroneous  was  the 
morality  of  the  Romans,  even  when  improved  by 
Hhe  least  mortal  mind'  that  Rome  ever  produced. 

8.  The  Arabic  morality,  Mohammed  derived  his 
best  ideas  from  the  Bible.  He  taught  the  unity  and 
personality  of  God;  and  his  holy,  just,  and  merciful 
character.     He  also  taught  the  immortality  of  the 


COMPARED  WITH  OTHER  SYSTEMS.  343 

soul,  and  the  blessedness  of  the  righteous  and  the 
dreadful  misery  of  the  wicked  after  death.  In  some 
of  his  teachings,  however,  he  deviated  from  the 
Bible;  and  in  doing  so  fell  into  serious  errors.  His 
heaven  is  not  a  place  of  pure  and  spiritual  joy,  but 
of  corporeal  gratification;  a  place  in  which  the  faith- 
ful shall  eat  delicious  fruits,  drink  pure  liquor,  and 
enjoy  the  love  and  beauty  of  fair  and  black-eyed 
women.  Carlyle  says  ^Mahomet's  Paradise  is  sen- 
sual, his  Hell  is  sensual;  in  the  one  and  the  other 
there  is  enough  that  shocks  all  spiritual  feeling  in 
us.*^  Many  of  his  ideas  in  regard  to  other  matters 
are  very  objectionable.  His  moral  precepts,  as  the 
author  just  referred  to  declares,  are  certainly  not 
always  of  the  superfinest  sort.  The  Koran  enjoins 
making  war  upon  and  slaughtering  infidels,  and 
promises  paradise  to  all  who  engage  in  this  dread- 
ful work.^     It  sanctions  slavery  and  human  chattel- 


hood.^  It  authorizes  polygamy  and  unlimited  di- 
vorce.^ Mohammed  claimed  unrestricted  freedom 
for  himself  in  regard  to  the  female  sex;  but  limited 
his  followers  to  four  wives  apiece.  He  had  at  one 
time  sixteen  or  seventeen  wives.  He  appropriated 
the  wife  of  his  adopted  son,  the  latter  consenting 
to  the  transfer.  Though  he  limited  the  number  of 
w^ves  to  each  of  his  followers  to  four,  he  allowed 
them  to  take  as  concubines  as  many  of  their  female 
slaves  as  they  pleased.^  He  did  not  teach  the  duty 
of  forbearance  and  forgiveness;  but  justified  the  re- 
taliation of  injuries,  the  returning  of  evil  for  evil.^ 

1  Hero-worship,  p.  51.     '  Chs.  2,  9,  47.     ^  Ch.  23. 
*Chs.2,  05.    ^Chs.  4,  23.     <^Ch.  8. 


344  MORAL  EXCELLENCE. 

Such  are  the  moral  errors  of  the  Koran.  It  appeals 
to  the  carnal  appetites  and  desires  of  men;  promis- 
ing as  a  reward  for  their  faith  and  obedience  carnal 
delights  in  the  future  life — dainty  fruits,  delicious 
wines,  marble  palaces,  dishes  of  gold,  robes  of  silk, 
pearls,  diamonds,  and  beautiful  women.  It  sanc- 
tions slavery,  bloody  persecution,  polygamy,  unlim- 
ited divorce,  concubinage,  and  revenge.  The  spirit 
and  teaching  of  the  Koran  are  exemplified  in  the 
character  of  the  modern  Turks  and  Arabs, — bigoted, 
persecuting,  quick  to  shed  blood,  revengeful,  op- 
pressive, and  sensual. 

9.  In  concluding  our  review  of  the  several  systems 
of  morality  that  have  prevailed  among  heathen  na- 
tions, we  make  the  following  observations;  (1)  We 
do  not  claim  that  we  have  presented  a  complete 
view  of  these  systems.  Our  business  has  been,  rath- 
er to  point  out  their  defects  and  errors  than  their 
merits.  We  have  considered  these  systems  of  mor- 
ality, not  in  their  crude  form,  not  as  held  by  nations 
emero^ino;  from  a  state  of  barbarism ;  but  in  tlieir 
most  improved  form,  and  as  presented  by  their 
ablest  and  purest  advocates.  It  is  but  fair  that 
we  should  take  the  Bible  morality  in  its  last  and 
most  improved  state;  that  is,  as  presented  by  Christ 
and  his  apostles.  This  is  all  the  more  proper,  for 
the  reason,  that  Christ  referred  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment as  containing  the  great  moral  ideas  which  he 
stated  with  so  much  beauty  and  power.  (2)  In  ad- 
dition to  what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  incom- 
parable excellence  of  the  Christian  morality,  it  may 
be  observed,  that  the  practice  of  the  morality  of  any 


COMPARED  WITH   OTHER  SYSTEMS.  345 

of  the  ancient  Gentile  nations  would  be  intolerable 
in  any  Christian  country.  The  advocate  of  such 
morality  would  be  regarded  either  as  insane  or  as  a 
nuisance.  Were  any  man  living  in  a  Christian  land 
to  practise  and  teach  as  did  the  wisest  and  best  of 
the  ancient  philosophers  and  moralists, — Socrates, 
Plato,  Aristotle,  Cicero,  Mohammed,  Sakya-rauni, 
or  Confucius, — he  would  be  excluded  from  all  re- 
spectable society.  But  on  the  other  hand,  the  best 
of  men  do  not  come  up,  in  character  and  conduct,  to 
the  moral  standard  of  the  Hebrews  as  presented  by 
Christ  and  his  apostles.  (3)  The  superiority  of  the 
morality  of  the  Hebrews  as  compared  with  that  of 
other  ancient  nations  will  be  more  evident,  if  we 
conceive  the  one  and  the  other  reduced  fully  to 
practice.  If  the  morality  of  any  of  the  ancient 
Gentile  nations  were  fully  put  in  practice,  we  would 
have  many  pernicious  and  debasing  institutions  and 
practices,  such  as  slavery;  war  carried  on  as  a  trade 
or  profession;  the  training  and  employment  of  wo- 
men as  soldiers;  the  community  of  wives  and  chil- 
dren; the  appearance  of  men  and  women  together 
in  public  without  clothing;  the  inter-marriage  of 
uncles  and  nieces,  brothers  and  sisters;  unlimited 
divorce;  prostitution;  polygamy;  infanticide;  re- 
venge; falsehood;  hypocrisy;  beggary,  starvation, 
and  solf-torture ;  practised  as  meritorious  duties. 
We  do  not  say  that  all  these  evils  wore  enjoined  or 
authorised  in  the  moral  system  of  every  one,  or  even 
of  any  one,  of  the  ancient  Gentile  nations.  But  some 
of  these  enormous  evils  were  embraced  in  the  moral 
system  of  every  one  of  those  nations.     Even  some 


346  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

of  the  worst  immoralities  just  referred  to  were  rec- 
ommended by  the  most  renowned  and  gifted  phil- 
osophers and  reformers  of  ancient  times.  All  the 
Gentile  systems  of  morality, — Egyptian,  Hindu, 
Buddhist,  Persian,  Chinese,  Grecian,  Roman,  and 
Arabic, — inculcated  sentiments  and  practices  that 
are  shocking  to  all  who  have  been  enlightened  by 
Christianity.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  princi- 
ples of  Hebrew  morality  as  presented  in  the  New 
Testament  were  completely  carried  out,  moral  evil 
would  cease — slavery,  war,  tyranny,  fraud,  false- 
hood, revenge,  pride,  envy,  hypocrisy,  selfishness, 
and  all  other  sins  and  crimes,  would  be  abolished; 
and  there  would  be  universal  benevolence,  purity, 
righteousness,  and  peace.  (4)  It  imports  but  little 
to  say  that  nearly  all  the  duties  and  virtues  enjoined 
by  the  Christian  morality  were  taught,  some  here 
and  some  there,  among  the  moral  and  philosophical 
systems  of  ancient  times.  Certainly  a  man  enlight- 
ened by  Christianity  might  construct  a  respectable 
system  of  morality  by  picking  out  whatever  is  good 
in  each  one  of  the  world-systems  and  rejecting  all 
that  is  bad.  These  systems  may  be  compared  to  a 
lot  of  ragamujSins  and  rascals — liars,  thieves,  gam- 
blers, drunkards,  perjurers,  debauchees,  misers,  mur- 
derers— every  one  of  whom  is  guilty  of  many  and 
great  vices,  yet  none  of  whom  is  guilty  of  every  vice 
or  destitute  of  every  virtue.  By  bringing  together 
whatever  good  qualities  are  found  here  and  there 
among  them,  a  respectable  character  might  be  form- 
ed. The  lying,  thieving  gambler  does  not  drink; 
the   drinking,  swearing  debauchee  does   not  steal; 


COMPARED   WITH   OTHER   SYSTEMS.  347 

the  selfish,  mean,  rascally  old  miser  does  not  mur- 
der; the  murderer  does  not  gamble.  Yet  every  one 
of  them  is  a  villain.  In  like  manner,  a  perfect  man 
might  be  formed  from  a  crowd  of  deformed  and  de- 
fective persons, — some  blind  and  lame,  some  armless 
and  club-footed,  some  footless  and  handless,  some 
crooked  and  dwarfed,  and  some  goggle-eyed  and 
hump-backed.  They  all  together  might  furnish  the 
members  for  the  formation  of  a  perfect  human  body, 
though  each  one  of  them  taken  singly  looks  like  a 
burlesque  on  humanity.  So,  doubtless,  a  respectable 
system  of  morality  might  be  constructed  by  culling 
out  whatever  is  good  and  true  in  all  the  moral  sys- 
tems and  writings  of  the  heathen.  Yet  each  one 
of  these  systems  was  very  defective  and  erroneous. 
Besides  this,  without  the  Christian  morality  as  a 
model,  an  eclectic  would  have  little  success  in  con- 
structing a  system  from  them  all.  Cicero  tried  it, 
and  fell  far  short  of  perfection.  He  selected  from  all 
systems  what  he  considered  good;  yet  he  approved 
slavery,  revenge,  suicide,  infanticide,  sexual  impur- 
ity, and  other  crimes  and  vices.  The  Bible  morality 
is  the  master-piece;  combining  every  beauty  and  ex- 
cellence, and  attesting  the  inimitable  skill  and  per- 
fection of  its  author. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE   IN 
FAVOR   OF   MORALITY. 

The  actual  influence  of  the  Bible  cannot  be  meas- 
ured. Its  greatest  triumphs  are  unnoticed  and  un- 
known. They  are  won  by  the  fire-side,  around  the 
family  altar,  in  the  church,  in  the  sick  room,  by  the 
side  of  the  grave;  and  over  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
prattling  children,  of  young  men  and  maidens,  of 
the  aged  and  infirm,  and  of  the  sad  and  sorrowful. 
Many  honest  men  and  women  have  grown  up  under 
its  blessed  influence.  Many  of  the  good  and  lovely 
prize  it  as  a  precious  treasure.  The  most  sacred 
memories  are  associated  with  it.  It  is  the  book  for 
the  afflicted.  It  cheers  the  sick  and  the  dying.  It 
is  the  poor  man's  friend.  Its  solemn  utterances 
have  strengthened  virtue,  and  reclaimed  many  an 
erring  one  from  the  w^ays  of  vice  and  ruin.  It  has 
cultivated  the  domestic  affections,  and  has  blessed 
the  homes  of  the  lowly  with  purity  and  peace. 

It  is  no  evidence  of  a  man's  virtue  that  he  dislikes 
the  Bible,  or  is  ignorant  of  it.  No  thief,  murderer, 
or  other  criminal  ever  became  such  through  its  in- 
fluence. It  is  not  generally  read  and  loved  by  those 
Avho  pursue  pleasure.  It  is  not  a  favorite  book  in 
grog-shops  and  gambling-saloons.  We  have  never 
348 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE.  349 

heard  of  a  criminal  declaring  that  he  had  been  led 
astray  by  the  Bible;  nor  of  any  man  regretting  at 
the  close  of  life  tliat  he  had  read  it  too  much.  But 
many  a  culprit  has  attributed  his  ruin  to  his  neglect 
of  the  Bible,  and  many  a  man  has  at  the  close  of 
life  regretted  that  he  did  not  give  it  more  atten- 
tion. It  is  by  its  influence  upon  individual  charac- 
ter, its  molding  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  men 
and  women  as  they  advance  from  childhood  to  old 
age,  that  the  moral  excellence  of  the  Bible  is  de- 
monstrated. Yet  this  influence  is  often  unnoticed. 
Men  and  women  who  are  content  to  live  and  die  in 
obscurity,  and  who  are  characterized  by  the  virtues 
and  graces  which  the  Bible  commends  and  enjoins — 
humility,  meekness,  mercy,  sincerity,  benevolence, 
righteousness,  and  the  love  of  God — are  not  taken 
much  account  of  in  this  world;  while  the  rich,  the 
ambitious,  and  the  powerful  are  celebrated  on  the 
historic  and  poetic  page.  Yet  the  latter  are  just  the 
ones  that  neglect  the  Bible,  while  the  former  read 
and  love  it.  Hence  it  is  that  the  actual  influence  of 
the  Bible  for  good  is  generally  under-rated.  There 
are  many  historical  facts,  however,  which  show  that 
the  Bible  has  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  moral- 
izing mankind. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  the  moral  excellence  of  the 
Bible  is  shown  by  its  influence  during  the  first  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era.  The  morals  of  the 
Christians  during  these  centuries  were  pure.  Gib- 
bon assigns  as  one  of  the  causes  of  the  rapid  spread 
of  Christianity,  *the  pure  and  austere  morals  of  the 
Christians.'  He  declares  also  that  'even  their  faults, 
30 


350  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

or  rather  errors,  were  derived  from  an  excess  of  vir- 
tue/^ The  emperor  Julian,  called  the  Apostate,  evea 
in  railing  against  Christianity  as  a  system  of  im- 
piety, admitted  the  benevolence  and  moral  purity  of 
the  Christians,  and  endeavored  to  incite  the  adhe- 
rents of  paganism  to  imitate  them.  ^  Why  (said  he) 
do  we  not  attend  to  what  has  been  the  chief  cause 
of  the  spread  of  impiety, — humanity  to  strangers, 
care  in  burying  the  dead,  and  that  holiness  of  life, 
which  they  so  ostentatiously  display, — all  which 
things  I  desire  to  have  our  people  to  observe.'^ 
The  testimony  of  these  two  opponents  of  Christian- 
ity, Julian  and  Gibbon,  to  the  sanctity  of  the  early 
Christians,  is  conclusive.  Yet  the  people  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era  were  shockingly 
depraved  and  immoral.  As  we  have  shown,  at  the 
time  the  Gospel  began  to  circulate  through  the  Ro- 
man empire,  society  had  become  utterly  corrupt. 
Men  had  lost  honesty  and  honor,  and  women  no 
longer  regarded  modesty  or  decency.  Yet  the  mor- 
als of  the  Christians  were  pure  and  austere,  ac- 
cording to  the  testimony  even  of  their  enemies. 
Christianity  operated  like  salt  to  keep  society  from 
putrefaction.  As  in  the  great  desert,  water,  where- 
ever  it  is  found,  is  surrounded  by  verdure  and  flow- 
ers; so  wherever  Christianity  penetrated,  ^/lere  flour- 
ished benevolence,  chastity,  righteousness,  and  all 
the  virtues. 

Besides  this;  through  the  influence  of  Christian- 
ity, many  moral  evils  which  had  been  established  by 

^  Decline  and  Full,  Ch.  15.        *  Letter  to  Arsacius,  high 
priest  of  Galatia,  preserved  by  Sozomen,  lib.  5,  cap.  16. 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OF  THE   BIBLE.  351 

long  usage,  and  by  civil  laws,  were  abolished.  In- 
fanticide, which  Gibbon  calls  'the  prevailing  and 
stubborn  vice  of  antiquity,^  was  one  of  those  evils. 
Great  numbers  of  infants,  exposed,  according  to  the 
inhuman  practice  of  the  times,  by  their  parents,  were 
rescued  from  death  by  the  Christians;  were  baptised 
and  educated;  and  were  maintained  at  the  expense 
of  the  church.  Finally  the  inhuman  practice  was 
entirely  eradicated  by  the  severe  enactments  of  the 
Christian  emperors,  and  the  empire  ceased  to  be 
stained  with  the  blood  of  infants.^  Through  the  in- 
fluence of  Christianity  also,  woman  was  elevated  to 
her  proper  position  in  the  family  and  in  society. 
The  Roman  laws  and  customs  in  regard  to  marriage 
and  divorce  were  very  objectionable.  The  wife  by  a 
fiction  of  the  Roman  law  became  the  adopted  daugh- 
ter of  her  husband,  and  as  fathers  might,  according 
to  the  Roman  law  sell  or  kill  their  children,  husbands 
might  sell  or  kill  their  wives.  But  when  the  morals 
of  the  Romans  became  very  corrupt,  although  the 
Roman  matrons  became  the  voluntary  companions 
of  their  lords,  marriage  was  regarded  as  a  mere  con- 
tract voidable  at  the  pleasure  either  of  the  husband 
or  the  wife.  Divorces  were  obtained  according  to  pas- 
sion, interest,  or  caprice;  and  marriage  was  degraded 
into  a  temporary  partnership  of  profit  gr  pleasure. 
But  the  dignity  and  purity  of  marriage  were  restor- 
ed by  the  Christians.  Gibbon  says,  the  Christian 
princes  were  the  first  who  specified  the  just  causes  of 
divorce.^  Christianity  was  also  opposed  to  slavery. 
^  chs.  15,  44.    Theod.  Cod.  ix.  tit.  14, 15.     ^  ch.  44. 


352  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

By  teaching  the  equality  of  men  in  the  sight  of  God, 
it  discouraged  the  holding  of  one  man  by  another  in 
an  abject  condition.  Though  the  church  did  not  de- 
mand the  abolition  of  slavery,  she  did  much  to  pre- 
vent its  increase,  and  to  promote  its  gradual  extinc- 
tion. Manumission  was  encouraged  as  an  act  of 
Christian  love.  Many  prisoners  doomed  to  slavery 
were  rescued  from  their  unfortunate  condition.  For 
the  redemption  of  such  persons  the  gold  and  silver 
vessels  of  the  churches  were  sometimes  employed. 
Constantine  and  his  successors  facilitated  and  en- 
couraged the  liberation  of  slaves  by  their  edicts.^ 
Another  great  evil  which  Christianity  abolished  was 
the  gladiatorial  games.  These  bloody  shows,  in 
which  thousands  of  human  beings  yearly  slaughtered 
one  another  or  were  torn  to  pieces  by  wild  beasts  for 
the  amusement  of  the  Roman  people,  were  very  popu- 
lar at  the  time  Christianity  began  to  prevail  through 
the  empire.  The  most  enlightened  and  humane  of 
the  Romans  approved,  or  at  least  did  not  opjiose,  the 
detestable  custom.  Constatine  issued  tiie  first  edict 
which  condemned  it.  But  notwithstanding  this  edict 
the  gladiatorial  games  continued  to  be  celebrated  in 
the  great  cities  of  the  empire.  They  were  finally 
and  completely  abolished  by  the  Christian  Emperor 
Honorius,  at  the  instance  of  a  Christian  monk  of 
Asia;  who  traveled  to  Rome  to  protest  against  these 
bloody  cxliibitions;  and  who  threw  himself  into  the 
arena,  separated  the  combatants,  and  was  immediate- 
ly afterward  stoned  to  death  by  the  populace,  en- 
raged at  the  interruption  of  their  amusements.^ 
*  Cod.  Just.  vii.  5,  6.  ^Qi^^ou^  ch.  30. 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  353 

The  service  which  Christianity  rendered  to  man- 
kind at  its  first  promulgation,  in  the  abolition  of 
immoral  ideas,  customs,  and  institutions,  has  been 
recognized  by  many  skeptics.  The  testimony  of 
Gibbon  is  that  of  an  unwilling  witness.  Other  wri- 
ters of  similar  views  are  fuller  and  more  explicit. 
We  present  the  admissions  of  a  writer  who  attempts 
to  account  for  Christianity  as  a  merely  human  pro- 
duction. *In  giving  prominence  to  what  are  called 
the  passive  virtues,  it  aided  in  the  development  of 
the  gentler  or  feminine  qualities  of  the  mind;  in  an- 
nouncing a  common  brotherhood,  it  favored  the  abo- 
lition of  slavery;  in  recognizing  the  private  judg- 
ment of  the  Christian  wife,  it  elevated  the  marriage 
institution;  in  its  attempt  to  evangelize  the  world, 
it  showed  a  noble  spirit  of  universality.  *  *  * 
A  characteristic  merit  of  the  religion  taught  by 
Jesus,  is  its  unrelenting  hatred  and  systematic  dis- 
couragement of  vice. and  crime,  and  its  enforcement 
of  moral  obligation.  The  frantic  licentiousness  of 
an  idolatrous  civilization,  the  abominations  of  Cotyt- 
to  and  Isis,  the  horrible  sensual  sins  of  the  resplen- 
dent Athens  and  the  majestic  Rome,  the  barbarous 
cruelty  of  the  amphitheatre,  the  loathsome  indecency 
of  literature, — were  all  directly  combated  or  indi- 
rectly discountenanced  by  the  spirit  and  practice  of 
a  religion  which  taught  that  God  was  too  pure  to 
behold  iniquity.  It  is  for  these  services  and  char- 
acteristics that  Christianity  is  entitled  to  respect  and 
gratitude  from  mankind;  it  is  through  them  that 
30* 


354  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

it  has  proved  its  right  to  be  regarded  as  a  redemp- 
tion and  a  restoration.'^ 

Such  was  the  blessed  influence  of  Christianity  dur- 
ing the  first  centuries.  It  denounced  and  combated 
the  immoralities  and  indecencies  that  pervaded  so- 
ciety, literature,  religion,  and  the  laws.  It  made  the 
morals  of  its  own  adherents  so  pure  amid  the  pre- 
vailing corruption,  as  to  excite  the  admiration  even 
of  their  enemies.  It  opposed  and  abolished  infanti- 
cide, unlimited  divorce,  and  the  gladiatorial  games. 
It  elevated  woman  and  purified  marriage.  It  en- 
couraged the  emancipation  of  slaves,  and  inculcated 
principles  which  finally  led  to  the  extinction  of  sla- 
very. Now,  the  influence  of  Christianity  is  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Bible.  The  doctrines  of  Christian- 
ity are  contained  in  the  Bible.  Christians,  even  to 
the  disgust  of  infidels,  have  ever  appealed  to  the 
Bible  as  containing  the  doctrines  of  their  faith. 

2.  The  moral  excellence  of  the  Bible  is  further 
demonstrated  by  its  influence  at  the  time  of  the  Ref- 
ormation of  the  16th  century.  As  has  already  been 
adverted  to,  the  Bible  was  largely  instrumental  in 
producing  that  event.  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Knox, 
and  their  co-laborers,  appealed  to  it  as  the  infallible 
word  of  God,  and  as  the  repository  of  all  the  moral 
as  well  as  theological  truth  attainable  by  men.  They 
accepted  as  right  and  good  whatever  they  thought  it 
approved,  and  rejected  whatever  they  thought  it 
condemned.  The  infidel  Bolingbroke  says;  'Before 
the  Reformation,  Christians  knew  nothing  of  the 
Bible  more  than  the  church  told  them.     It  might, 

^Westminster  Review,  July  18G3,  p.  15. 


ACTUAL.  INFLUENCE  OF   THE   BIBLE.         355 

or  it  might  not,  be  a  rule  to  the  pastors;  but  it  was 
none  to  the  flocks.  After  the  Reformation,  it  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  every  one.'^  Many  infidels 
speak  of  it  as  a  reproach  to  the  reformers,  that 
though  they  delivered  the  human  mind  from  Papal 
tyranny,  they  subjected  it  to  the  authority  of  the 
Bible.  A  book  thus  regarded  as  the  inspired  word 
of  God  and  as  the  infallible  standard  of  truth  and 
duty,  and  almost  universally  read  and  studied,  must 
have  had  a  powerful  influence  over  the  opinions  and 
morals  of  men.  Hence  something  of  the  character 
of  the  Bible  may  be  known  from  the  state  of  morals 
before  and  after  the  Reformation.  Just  before  the 
Reformation,  when  the  Bible  was  a  sealed  book  to 
men  in  general,  and  when  priests  and  bishops  spoke 
of  the  New  Testament  as  a  heretical  and  dangerous 
book,  the  greatest  disorders  and  licentiousness  pre- 
vailed. The  clergy  were  characterized  by  ignor- 
ance, avarice,  and  impurity;  while  the  vilest  forms 
of  superstition,  and  the  greatest  corruption  of  man- 
ners, prevailed  among  the  people.  Indulgences  for 
sins  and  crimes  were  hawked  about  the, streets  and 
sold  at  a  low  price.  Incest,  if  not  detected,  cost  five 
groats;  six,  if  it  became  known.  There  was  a  fixed 
price  also  for  perjury,  adultery,  murder,  and  other 
crimes.  Society  was  inundated  with  a  torrent  of 
immorality  and  crime.^  But  the  Reformation  in- 
troduced a  salutary  change.  It  was  a  moral  as  well 
as  religious  revival.  The  chief  reformers,  like  the 
Hebrew  prophets  and  apostles,  w^ere  men  who  hated 

1  Phil.  Works,  vol.  3,  pp.  326-27.     ^  D  '  Aubigne,  His.  Eef. 
B.  1,  ch.  3.    Mosheim,  His.  Ref.  sec.  1,  ch.  1. 


356  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

sin.  They  were  laborious,  self-denying,  God-fear- 
ing men.  They  denounced  immorality  and  licen- 
tiousness. They  enjoined  purity,  benevolence,  and 
righteousness.  By  the  movement  they  were  instru- 
mental in  setting  on  foot,  there  was  as  great  im- 
provement produced  in  morals,  as  in  theological 
belief  and  general  intelligence.  This  moral  as  well 
as  religious  and  intellectual  advancement  was  in  a 
great  measure  due  to  the  influence  of  the  Bible. 
The  reformers  relied  on  it  as  their  main  instrument 
and  support. 

3.  The  moral  excellence  of  the  Bible  is  also  de- 
monstrated by  its  influence  on  the  character  and 
conduct  of  the  Puritans  in  the  17th  century.  The 
Puritans  had  their  faults,  but  they  were  neither 
hypocritical  nor  licentious.  They  were  honest,  sin- 
cere, earnest  men.  A  class  of  men  who  had  for 
their  leaders  Hampden,  Cromwell,  Milton,  Howe, 
Baxter,  Bunyan  and  others;  who  were  eminent  for 
their  genius,  talents,  learning,  piety,  and  virtue;  are 
entitled  to  the  respect,  if  not  the  admiration  of  man- 
kind. We  may  smile  at  the  manners  of  the  Purit- 
ans;  we  may  condemn  some  of  their  opinions;  we 
may  denounce  the  excesses  which  they  sometimes 
committed; — but  their  ability,  courage,  patriotism, 
and  moral  purity  will  not  now  be  questioned  by 
men  of  intelligence  and  candor.  Macaulay  says  that 
before  they  had  gained  the  ascendency,  they  were 
eminently  a  pure  body  of  men,  and  that  their  con- 
duct was  generally  blameless;  but  that  afterward 
they  were  joined  by  time-servers  and  hypocrites, 
who  are  always  disposed  to  attach  themselves  to  the 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE  OF  THE   BIBLE.         357 

victorious  party,  and  generally  disgrace  it  by  their 
licentious  conduct.^ 

The  character  of  the  Puritans  is  exemplified  in 
Cromwell  and  his  soldiers.  They  were  brave  on 
the  field  of  battle,  and  sober  and  upright  in  the 
camp.  In  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Flanders, 
the  Puritan  warriors,  though  sometimes  contending 
against  three-fold  odds,  not  only  never  failed  to  con- 
quer, but  never  failed  to  break  in  pieces  and  destroy 
whatever  force  was  opposed  to  them.  They  came  at 
length  to  regard  the  day  of  battle  as  a  day  of  certain 
triumph,  and  marched  against  the  most  renowned 
battalions  of  Europe  with  disdainful  confidence. 
*But  that  which  chiefly  distinguished  the  army  of 
Cromwell  from  other  armies  was,  the  austere  moral- 
ity and  the  fear  of  God  which  pervaded  all  ranks. 
It  is  acknowledged  by  the  most  zealous  royalists 
that  in  that  singular  camp  no  oath  was  heard,  no 
drunkenness  or  gambling  was  seen;  and  that  during 
the  long  dominion  of  the  soldiery,  the  property  of 
the  peaceable  citizen  and  the  honor  of  women  were 
held  sacred.  If  outrages  were  committed,  they  were 
outrages  of  a  very  different  kind  from  those  of  which 
a  victorious  army  is  generally  guilty.  No  servant 
girl  complained  of  the  rough  gallantry  of  the  red- 
coats. Not  an  ounce  of  plate  was  taken  from  the 
shops  of  the  goldsmiths.  But  a  Pelagian  sermon, 
or  a  window  in  which  the  Virgin  and  Child  were 
painted,  produced  in  the  Puritan  ranks  an  excite- 
ment which  it  required  the  utmost  exertion  of  the 

1  His.  of  Eag.  vol.  1.  pp.  128-9. 


358  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

officers  to  qnell/  When  the  soldiers  of  Cromwell 
were  (lisbaiuled  at  the  Restoration,  they  committed 
no  disorders.  The  royalists  themselves  admitted 
that  in  every  department  of  honest  industry  the  dis- 
carded warriors  prospered  beyond  other  men;  that 
none  was  charged  with  any  theft  or  robbery;  that 
none  was  heard  to  ask  an  alms;  and  that  if  a  baker, 
a  mason,  or  a  wagoner  attracted  notice  by  his  dili- 
gence and  sobriety,  he  was  in  all  probability  one  of 
Oliver's  old  soldiers.^  Such  was  the  character  of 
the  Puritan  soldiers;  steady,  brave,  and  invincible 
on  the  field  of  battle;  and  temperate,  sober,  and  up- 
right in  the  camp.  They  were  as  remarkable  for 
their  moral  purity  as  for  their  military  bravery  and 
achievements.  How  was  this  moral  purity  attained 
and  preserved?  Mainly  through  the  influence  of 
the  Bible.  The  Puritan  soldiers  were  men  of  de- 
cided religious  convictions.  They  were  deeply  read 
in  the  oracles  of  God.  Bible  scenes  and  truths  were 
ever  present  to  their  minds.  They  conversed  in  the 
language  of  the  prophets  and  apostles.  Their  even- 
ings in  camp  were  spent  in  conference  and  prayer. 
At  their  religious  meetings,  they  talked  in  regard  to 
the  state  of  their  souls,  and  the  duty  and  means  of 
spiritual  improvement.  Privates  presided  and  ex- 
horted, and  often  reproved  colonels  and  majors  for 
their  coldness  and  backslidings.  Every  soldier  car- 
ried a  copy  of  the  Bible,  and  made  it  his  daily 
study.  They  committed  much  of  it  to  memory. 
They  continually  quoted  it  in  their  common  inter- 

'  Macaulay's  His.  of  Eng.  vol.  1.  pp.  94-5,  120. 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OP   THE   BIBLE.  359 

course.  They  sung  Psalms  as  they  went  into  battle; 
and  charged  upon  their  foes  in  the  name  of  the  God 
of  the  Bible. 

Thus  educated  and  influenced,  Cromwell  and  his 
soldiers  became  not  only  the  most  formidable  war- 
riors in  the  world,  but  also  remarkable  examples  of 
moral  purity.  By  them  we  may  judge  of  the  genu- 
ine Puritans — those  of  them  who  were  Puritans  from 
honest  convictions,  and  who  had  belono^ed  to  the 
party  before  it  gained  the  ascendency.  The  excel- 
lence of  the  character  of  these  men  is  generally  ad- 
mitted. The  worst  that  even  their  opponents  at- 
tempted in  defaming  them  was,  to  ridicule  their 
austerities,  long  prayers,  and  Scripture  phrases.  Sir 
James  Mackintosh  pronounces  Hhe  Puritans  the 
most  severely  moral  men  of  any  age.'^ 

The  moral  influence  of  the  Bible  during  the  dom- 
ination of  the  Puritans  is  set  in  a  strong  light  by 
the  profligacy  of  the  succeeding  age.  The  depraved 
passions  and  tastes,  which  under  the  rule  of  the  Puri- 
tans had  been  sternly  repressed,  and  if  gratified  at 
all,  had  been  gratified  by  stealth,  broke  forth  with 
ungovernable  violence  as  soon  as  the  check  was 
withdrawn.  The  corruption  was  general.  All  the 
lighter  kinds  of  literature  were  deeply  tainted  by 
the  prevailing  licentiousness.  Poetry  stooped  to  be 
the  pander  of  every  low  desire.  Ridicule  turned 
her  formidable  shafts  against  innocence  and  truth. 
Scarcely  any  rank  or  profession  escaped  the  infection 
of  the  prevailing  immorality,  but  those  who  made 
^Misc.  Essays,  p.  330. 


360  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

politics  their  business  were  perhaps  the  most  corrupt 
part  of  the  corrupt  society.  These  were  the  days  of 
servility  and  sensuality;  of  dwarfish  talents  and 
gigantic  vices;  of  cold  hearts  and  narrow  minds; 
of  cowardice,  bigotry,  and  slavery.  Such  was  the 
state  of  morals  in  England  in  the  time  succeeding 
the  Restoration,  according  to  the  account  of  her  cele- 
brated historian  and  essayist.^  England  under  the 
Puritauj^;,  contrasted  with  England  under  the  re- 
stored Stuarts,  demonstrates  the  excellence  of  the 
Bible  morality.  During  the  domination  of  the  for- 
mer, the  Bible  had  a  powerful  influence;  after  the 
Restoration,  conformity  to  its  moral  precepts  was  un- 
fashionable and  disreputable. 

4.  The  superior  state  of  morals  in  Protestant  coun- 
tries, as  compared  with  Roman  Catholic,  is  another 
illustration  of  the  purifying  influence  of  the  Bible. 
In  the  former,  it  is  generally  read  and  exerts  a  much 
more  powerful  influence  than  in  the  latter,  where  it 
is  read  by  comparatively  few.  That  the  state  of 
morals  is  better  in  Protestant  than  in  Roman  Catho- 
lic countries  can  scarcely  be  doubted  by  intelligent 
people,  and  might  be  demonstrated  by  a  comparison 
of  the  former  with  the  latter — the  United  States  with 
the  South  American  Republics;  Scotland  with  Ire- 
land; the  Protestant  parts  of  Ireland  with  the  Ro- 
man Catholic;  Prussia  with  Austria;  Holland  with 
Belgium;  and  the  Protestant  cantons  of  Switzer- 
land with  the  Roman  Catholic.  This  comparison 
has  been   made  by  Roussel,  to  whose  book  we   refer 

^Macaulay's  His.  of  Eng.  vol.  1.  pp.  140—41.  Essay  on 
Milton,  pp.  14 — 15. 


ACTUAL    INFLUENCE    OF   THE    BIBLE.  361 

tlie  reader.^  We  have  space  only  for  a  few  facts  in 
regard  to  the  United  States  and  the  South  American 
Republics,  and  in  regard  to  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
The  testimony  of  M.  de  Tocqueville  is,  that  the 
morality  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  is  supe- 
rior to  that  of  the  nations  in  general;  and  he  attributes 
this  superiority  to  the  influence  of  religion.  Says 
he, — *It  directs  the  manners  of  the  community  ;  and 
by  regulating  domestic  life,  it  regulates  the  state. 
I  doubt  not  that  the  great  strictness  of  morals  to  be 
noticed  in  the  United  States  originates  in  religious 
faith.  Reliii^ion  there  is  often  unable  to  restrain  man 
amidst  the  numberless  temptations  of  fortune;  nor 
can  it  moderate  in  him  the  passion  for  gain  which  all 
around  excites:  but  it  reigns  supreme  over  the  mind 
of  woman,  and  woman  is  the  protector  of  morals. 
In  all  the  world,  America  is  certainly  the  country 
where  the  marriage  tie  is  most  respected,  and  where 
conjugal  happiness  is  n^ost  highly  and  worthily  ap- 
preciated. In  Europe,  neary  all  the  disorders  of  so- 
ciety originate  in  the  irregularities  and  impurity  of 
domestic  life.'^  Roussel,  by  various  facts  and  quo- 
tations, shows  that  the  morality  of  the  United  States, 
bad  as  it  is,  is  superior  to  that  of  other  countries.^ 
His  account  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  people  in 
the  South  American  states  embraces  the  following 
statements:  unchastity  even  in  married  women  is 
not  regarded  as  disgraceful;  incest  between  brother 

^  Catholic  and  Protestant  nations  compared,  in  their  three- 
fold relations  to  wealth,  knowledge,  and  morality;  by  Rev. 
N.  Roussel  of  Paris.  ^American  Institutions,  ch.  17.  ^pp. 
67—63. 

31 


362  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

andsisterisnot  uncommon, especially  in  the  country; 
thefts  are  also  common;  obscene  jests  and  gestures 
are  sources  of  amusement;  robberies  and  assassina- 
tions are  frequent,  and  are  seldom  punished;  the 
love  and  practice  of  gambling  are  general;  drun- 
kenness is  very  prevalent.  It  is  not  asserted  that 
there  is  no  virtue  among  the  South  Americans;  but 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  vice  and  crime  among  them, 
especially  among  the  lower  classes.^  The  comparison 
between  Scotland  and  Ireland  yields  similar  results. 
The  Scotch  are  an  industrious,  frugal,  and  sober  peo- 
ple ;  the  Catholic  Irish,  as  is  well  known,  are  addicted 
to  drunkenness  quarreling,  and  violence.  In  one 
year  (1850)  there  were  more  committals  for  crime  in 
Ireland  (33,326)  than  in  all  Great  Britain  (31,281). 
Within  certain  years,  the  number  of  accused  persons 
in  Scotland  was  in  the  proportion  of  1  to  880  inhabi- 
tants ;  in  Ireland,  1  to  460.  The  number  of  assas- 
sinations within  certain  years  in  Scotland  was  in  the 
ratio  of  1  to  400,000  of  the  inhabitants;  in  Ireland, 
1  to  107,000 :  homicides,  in  the  former  country,  1  to 
266,000;  in  the  latter,  1  to  46,000.  The  number 
of  thefts  within  certain  years  in  Scotland  was  186,  1 
to  13,000  of  the  inhabitants;  in  Ireland,  3,026,  1 
to  2,700.  The  condemnations  to  death  within  cer- 
tain years,  in  Scotland  were  in  the  ratio  of  1  to 
257,000;  in  Ireland,  of  1  to  52,000.  The  execu- 
tions within  certain  years,  in  Scotland  were  in  the 
ratio  of  1  to  610,000;  in  Ireland,  1  to  221,000.  By 
these  facts  it  is  shown,  that  in  proportion  to  the 
»pp.  65—74. 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OF   THE    BIBLE.  363 

population,  the  commitments  are  twice  as  numerous 
in   Ireland  as   in   Scotland,   thefts   five  times  more 
numerous,  homicides  six  times,   assassinations   four, 
the  condemnations  to  death  ten,  and  the  executions 
three.      That   the    larger    proportional    number    of 
crimes  in  Ireland  does  not  result  from  the  character 
of  the  laws,  but  from  the  moral  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple, is  demonstrated  by  a  comparison  of  the  Protes- 
tant   counties  with   the  Roman   Catholic.     In  An- 
trim  the  Protestants  are  to   the  Roman   Catholics 
nearly  as  3  to  1;   in  Down,  2  to  1 ;  in  Derry,  1  to  1 ; 
in  Donegal,  1  to  3;  in  Cork  1  to  16;  in  Limerick, 
1  to  22;  Kerry  and  Waterford,  1  to  23;   Mayo  and 
Galway,  1  to  24.     The  number  of  those   who  could 
not  read  in  Antrim  was  23  per  cent.;  in  Down,  27 
per  cent.;  Derry,   29;  Limerick,   55;  Donegal,  62; 
Cork,  68;  Kerry,  72;  Waterford,  73;    Galway,  78; 
and    Mayo,   80.     In  all  these  counties,  those   who 
could  not   read  were  almost  all   Roman  Catholics. 
In  the  four  Protestant  counties   of  Antrim,  Down, 
Derry,  and  Donegal,  the  number  of  committals  was, 
in  proportion  to  the  population,  less  than  one  fourth 
of  the  number  in  the  four  Roman  Catholic    counties 
of  Kerry,   Limerick,   Galway,   and   Mayo.     Of  69 
criminals  hanged  in  Ireland  within  certain  years,  13 
were  executed  in  Limerick   alone,  only  four  in  Ul- 
ster— the  stronghold  of  Protestantism,  and  none  in 
any  of  the  Protestant  counties  except  one  in  Done- 
gal (in  w^hich,  though  classed  as  Protestant,  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  are  as  3  to  1).     Of  the  33,226  com- 
mittals (in  1850)  not  one  sixth   part  were  in  Ulster. 
Of  the  23  executions  in   1849  and   1850,  only  two 


364  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

occurred  in  Ulster.  These  statistics  indicate  a  better 
state  of  morals  in  the  Protestant  part  of  Ireland 
than  in  the  Roman  Catholic.^ 

AVe  have  not  space  to  pursue  this  subject  much 
farther.  But  we  will  remark,  that  the  facts  present- 
ed by  Eoussel,  and  the  testimony  of  travelers,  de- 
monstrate that  the  morals  of  Protestant  nations  are 
purer  than  those  of  Koman  Catholic.  In  Italy, 
Spain,  Portugal,  France,  Belgium,  at  Rome,  at 
Naples,  among  the  Roman  Catholic  populations  of 
Ireland  and  South  America,  there  are  confessedly 
more  ignorance,  squalor,  prostitution,  bastardy,  con- 
jugal infidelity,  and  vice  of  almost  every  kind,  than 
among  the  Protestant  populations  of  Great  Britain, 
Holland,  Switzerland,  and  the  United  States.  On 
this  point  we  present  the  testimony  of  Lord  Macau- 
lay.  After  speaking  of  the  progress  of  Scotland  and 
the  decline  of  Italy,  the  elevation  of  Holland  and  the 
descent  of  Spain  to  the  lowest  depths  of  degradation, 
as  illustrating  the  injurious  tendency  of  Papal  dom- 
ination, he  says;  'Whoever  passes  in  Germany  from 
a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant  principality,  in 
Switzerland  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant 
canton,  in  Ireland  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Pro- 
testant county,  finds  that  he  has  passed  from  a  lower 
to  a  higher  grade  of  civilization.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  the  same  law  prevails.  The  Protes- 
tants of  the  United  States  have  left  far  behind  them 
the  Roman  Catholics  of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Brazil. 
The  Roman  Catholics  of  Lower  Canada  remain  in- 

^pp.  75— 128. 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE.  365 

ert,  while  the  whole  continent  round  is  in  a  ferment 
with  Protestant  activity  and  enterprise/*  It  does  not 
weaken  this  testimony  that  the  author  remarks  that  it 
is  difficult  to  say  whether  England  owes  more  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  or  to  the  Reformation.  For 
at  the  time  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  exerted  a 
beneficial  influence  in  England,  the  Romish  church 
was  not  what  she  afterward  became,  the  opponent  of 
the  Bible.  During  the  middle  age,  she  was  .the  de- 
positary of  nearly  all  the  Bible  knowledge  which  the 
world  possessed.  England  owes  much  to  the  Ro- 
mish church  for  delivering  her  from  paganism ;  and 
she  owes  much  to  the  Reformation  for  deliverino:  her 
from  the  Romish  church.  Protestant  countries,  in 
intellectual  and  moral  improvement,  are  in  advance 
of  Roman  Catholic  countries;  but  the  latter  are  in 
advance  of  countries  that  know  nothing  of  the  Bible 
and  Christianity.  In  the  above  extract  the  histo- 
rian speaks  of  the  greater  advancement  of  Protestant 
nations  in  wealth,  power,  knowledge,  civilization. 
But  advancement  in  civilization  implies  advance- 
ment in  morality.  The  decay  of  morals  must  soon- 
er or  later  be  followed  by  a  decline  of  civilization. 
Indeed,  morality  is  the  chief  branch  of  civilization. 
The  superiority  of  Protestant  nations  in  civilization 
proves  their  superiority  in  moral  purity. 

Christian  morality  is  founded  on  the  Bible.     The 

nations  that  receive  the  Bible  as  an  infallible  guide 

in    religion  and  morals,  who  read  it  the  most,  and 

over  whom   it  exerts  the  greatest  influence,  as  we 

'His.  of  Eng.  vol.  1.  pp.  37—38. 

31* 


366  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

have  showD,  have  the  fewest  criminals  and  are  the 
purest  in  morals.  There  are  those,  however,  who 
endeav^or  to  account  for  the  superiority  of  the  moral- 
ity of  Protestant  countries  by  other  causes  than  the 
influence  of  the  Bible  and  Christianity.  Not  long 
ago,  a  writer  in  an  infidel  journal  made  the  follow- 
ing declaration:  ^In  the  Catholic  countries  of  the 
Continent,  where  divorce  is  impossible,  the  sanctity 
of  wedlock  is  a  laughing-stock,  and  marriage  is  a 
mere  matter  of  Convenience.  In  Protestant  coun- 
tries, the  possibility  of  divorce  in  cases  of  extreme 
misconduct  has  operated  beneficially,  as  every  meas- 
ure of  freedom  accorded  to  intelligent  beings  usually 
does  operate;  and  has  contributed  to  a  purity  in 
wedded  life  that  has  long  been  the  admiration  of  the 
world. '^  Here  it  is  intimated  that  the  impossibility 
of  divorce  in  Catholic  countries  causes  husbands  and 
wives  to  commit  adultery;  and  that  in  Protestant 
countries  husbands  and  wives  are  faithful  to  one  an- 
other, just  because  in  case  of  adultery  divorce  is  possi- 
ble. The  truth  is,  however,  that  conjugal  impurity 
indicates,  and  results  from,  corruption  of  morals  in 
general;  and  conjugal  fidelity  and  happiness  result 
from  mutual  love,  and  a  sense  of  moral  obligation.  As 
Paul  says,  the  law  is  not  made  for  a  righteous  man, 
but  for  the  lawless  and  disobedient.  The  o-reat 
majority  of  citizens  do  not  refrain  from  killing  be- 
cause murderers  are  hung,  nor  from  stealing  because 
thieves  are  confined  in  the  Penitentiary.  Nor  do 
husbands  and  wives  in  Protestant  countries  love  one 

1  Westminster  Heview,  April  18G8,  p.  222. 


ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE.  367 

another  and  live  together  happily  because  of  the  law 
of  divorce.  The  purity  in  wedded  life  which,  as  de- 
clared above,  4ias  long  been  the  admiration  of  the 
world,'  exists  only  where  there  is  general  purity  of 
life  and  character.  \y herever  ^  the  sanctity  of  mar- 
riage is  a  laughing  stock',  there  is  general  corrup- 
tion of  hearts  and  manners.  The  admirable  purity 
in  wedded  life  that  prevails  in  Protestant  countries 
is  proof  of  a  higher  grade  of  morals,  and  is  an  illus- 
tration of  the  purifying  influence  of  the  Bible  and 
Christianity. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FACTS   ILLUSTRATING  THE  MORAL  EXCEL- 
LENCE   OP    THE    BIBLE. 

There  are  several  facts  which  indirectly  vindicate 
the  moral  excellence  of  the  Bible,  and  which  we  now 
present. 

1.  One  of  these  facts  is,  that  all  men  of  true 
moral  greatness, — all  true  reformers,  men  possessing 
great,  earnest,  magnanimous,  disinterested,  self-de- 
nying souls,  and  willing  to  labor  and  dare  and  die 
in  the  cause  of  truth  and  humanity, — have  rever- 
enced the  Bible  as  the  word  of  God,  and  taken  it  as 
the  guide  of  their  faith  and  conduct.  Luther,  Cal- 
vin, Knox;  Hampden,  Cromwell,  the  Princes  of  Or- 
ange, Washington;  Newton,  Locke,  Milton;  How- 
ard, Wilberforce,  Lincoln,  and  all  who  deserve  to  be 
named  as  benefactors  of  mankind, — were  men  whose 
thoughts,  feelings,  convictions,  and  actions  were  in- 
fluenced by  the  truths,  precepts,  earnest  spirit,  and 
solemn  utterances  of  the  Bible.  Many  skeptics  have 
manifested  courage,  talents,  and  genius.  Hume, 
Gibbon,  Rousseau,  Voltaire,  Gothe,  Byron,  Shelley, 
Bolingbroke,  Frederick  the  Great,  Humboldt  and 
others,  who  rejected  the  divine  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures,  were  among  the  most  gifted  of  men. 
Yet  not  one  of  them  can  be  reo:arded  as  a  pattern 
368  °  ^ 


FACTS.  369 

of  moral  excellence.  Thev  were  selfish  and  e<rotis- 
tic.  They  wrote  or  labored  for  self-aggrandizement. 
They  lacked  the  true  earnestness,  the  moral  convic- 
tions, and  the  self-denial,  that  are  requisite  to  form 
characters  truly  great.  Some  of  them,  by  the  pro- 
ductions of  their  genius,  amused  and  delighted  man- 
kind. All  of  them  gained  what  they  sought — ad- 
miration and  fame.  But  they  did  little  or  nothing 
to  purify  and  elevate  mankind.  They  strove  not 
against  tyranny  and  oppression  and  crime  and  sin 
and  misery,  nor  endeavored  to  relieve  human  suffer- 
ing, nor  to  make  the  world  morally  better.  Prior  to 
the  advent  of  Christ,  and  the  dissemination  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  world's  great  men  and  heroes  were  power- 
ful kings,  daring  warriors,  successful  generals,  ora- 
tors, poets,  and  artists;  men  who  labored  to  build  up 
their  own  country  on  the  ruins  of  others,  or  to  ag- 
grandize themselves.  Even  the  peaceful  orators  and 
poets  had  no  higher  object  than  wealth  and  fame,  or 
their  country's  glory.  Their  very  patriotism  was 
only  a  species  of  selfishness.  But  since  Christ — the 
model  hero — appeared,  meekness,  humility,  disin- 
terestedness, and  self-sacrifice  have  been  recognized 
as  elements  of  true  greatness.  The  world  no  longer 
regards  brute  courage,  military  skill,  poetic  genius, 
political  sagacity,  or  rhetorical  power,  employed  for 
the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  fame  or  the  advance- 
ment of  national  glory,  as  entitling  their  possessors  to 
the  name  of  heroes  or  benefactors.  The  most  gifted 
skeptics  of  modern  times,  though  they  possessed  in- 
tellect, wit,  learning,  and  genius,  and  though  they 
could  appreciate  the  good,  true,  and  beautiful,  lacked 


370  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

the  moral  depth  aud  earnestness,  and  the  spirit  of 
self-denial  and  self-consecration,  which  are  necessary 
to  the  formation  of  truly  great  characters;  and  with- 
out which  the  greatest  talents  and  success  cannot  long 
command  the  reverence  of  mankind.  The  qualities 
of  true  heroism,  disinterested  benevolence,  self-sacri- 
fice, and  deep  moral  earnestness,  are  alone  inspired 
by  Christianity.  They  are  produced  by  the  precepts 
and  principles,  the  grand  truths,  the  solemn  utter- 
ances, and  the  glorious  hopes  presented  in  the  Scrip- 
tures; and  are  exem2)lified  in  the  model  character  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Hence,  infidelity  has  been  and 
always  will  be  a  failure.  It  never  has  produced  and 
never  can  produce  such  characters  as  Luther  or 
Knox,  Cromwell  or  Washington,  Milton  or  Dante, 
or  even  Mohammed.  For  he  derived  his  best  ideas 
from  the  Bible;  imbibed  the  earnest  spirit  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets;  adopted  many  of  their  lofty  ut- 
terances; and  even  borrowed  much  from  Jesus  and 
his  apostles.  The  blessed  influence  of  Christianity 
is  seen,  then,  in  this,  that  it  has  given  to  the  world 
a  higher  standard  of  moral  greatness;  and  has  pro- 
duced heroes  characterized  not  merely  by  talents, 
genius,  and  success,  but  by  disinterestedness,  benev- 
olence, self-denial,  and  deep  moral  earnestness. 

2.  Another  thing  that  demonstrates  the  moral  ex- 
cellence of  the  Bible,  is  the  fact,  that  opponents 
of  Christianity  almost  invariably  attack  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Christian  clergy  and  professors,  rather  than 
the  Bible.  From  tiie  days  of  the  apostles  down  to 
the  present  time,  the  argument  most  frequently  used 
against  Christianity  is,  that  its  advocates  are  bigots. 


FACTS. 


371 


hypocrites,  fanatics,  or  at  least  are  no  better  than 
other  people.     This  repeated  charge  is  a  compliment 
to  Christianity.    It  is  a  virtual  admission  of  the  excel- 
lence of  its  moral  teachings.     It  is  the  exalted  and 
perfect  morality   of  the  Bible    which    by    contrast 
makes  the  faults  and  imperfections  of  Christian  pro- 
fessors appear  so  badly.     It  is  the   inconsistency  of 
their  character  and  conduct  with  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, the  Golden  Rule,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
and  the  whole  teaching  of  the  Bible,  that  creates  all 
the  scandal.    The  hypocrisy  or  immorality  of  a  clergy- 
man is  a  shocking  affair,  but  the  misconduct  of  an  in- 
fidel never  creates  an  uproar.     Gibbon  declared  that 
he  was  more  scandalized  by  the  burning  of  Servetus 
than  by  all  the  burnings  of  the  church   of  Rome. 
Why?  Just  because  persecution  is  inconsistent  with 
the  spirit  and  teaching  of  the  Bible,  which  Calvin 
and  the  other  reformers  adopted  as  their  guide.     The 
immoralities  and  obscenities  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
Gibbon,  Byron,  Shelley,  and  other  skeptics,  create  no 
scandal,  because  they  were  not  violations  of  any  law 
or  principle  by  which  they  professed  or  endeavored 
to  regulate  their  lives.     But  the  Christian  is  expec- 
ted to  endeavor  to  obey  the  pure  and  perfect  precepts 
of  the  Bible,  to  love  God  supremely  and  his  neigh- 
bor as   himself,    to  imitate   the   faultless   character 
and  conduct  of  Christ,  and  to  be  diligent  in  every 
good  word  and  work.     Of  course  he  comes  short,  for 
perfection  is  not  possible  among  men  on  earth,  and 
the  unattainable  excellence  of  the  standard  by  which 
he  endeavors  to  regulate  his  conduct  gives  occasion 
to  enemies  and  opponents  to  blaspheme.     The  very 


372  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

clamor  that  is  raised  by  skeptical  objectors  about  the 
delinquencies  and  transgressions  of  the  clergy  and 
members  of  the  Christian  Church,  is  a  tacit  acknowl- 
edorment  of  the  transcendent  excellence  of  the  Bible 
morality. 

3.  Another  significant  fact  is  the  failure  of  the 
opponents  of  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  Bible  to 
suggest  any  improvements  in  its  morality,  or  even 
to  do  anything  to  improve  the  moral  condition  of 
mankind.  They  indeed  denounce  bigotry  and  super- 
stition, but  they  are  concerned  about  the  bigotry  and 
superstition  only  of  those  who  believe  in  the  Bible  as 
the  word  of  God.  They  have  little  or  nothing  to 
say  about  the  superstition  of  the  thousands  and  mil- 
lions of  people  w^ho  believe  in  Buddhism,  the  Koran, 
or  the  teachings  of  Confucius.  They  regard  the 
errors  of  the  heathen  with  much  indifference.  But 
oh !  the  dreadful  superstition  of  Christian  English- 
men and  Americans !  It  is  not  a  matter  of  much 
regret  to  infidels  that  the  majority  of  mankind  are 
pagans.  It  is  not  very  shocking  to  them  that  in  all 
countries  where  the  Bible  is  unknown,  the  people 
believe  in  hobgoblins,  worship  devils,  and  practise 
all  kinds  of  abominable  things.  But  they  regard 
it  as  intolerable  that  people  should  believe  in  the 
supernatural  origin  of  Christianity,  and  worship 
Christ  as  the  Son  of  God.  Infidels  generally  admit 
Christianity  to  be  the  best  religion  known  among 
men.  Their  theory  is,  that  it  is  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  the  religious  element  in  man's  nature  yet 
attained.  They  otten  speak  in  rapturous  terms  of 
the  sublime  and  pure  morality   of  the  New  Testa- 


TACTS.  373 

ment.  But  instead  of  endeavoring  to  substitute  this 
purest  morality  for  the  heathenish  ignorance  and 
superstition  and  vice  into  which  the  majority  of  man- 
kind are  sunk,  infidels  are  constantly  laboring  to 
remove  the  supposed  errors  and  delusions  of  Chris- 
tian men  and  women;  to  convert  the  enlightened 
portion  of  mankind  from  the  doctrines  held  by  Ba- 
con, Milton,  Newton,  Locke,  and  the  majority  not 
only  of  the  greatest  but  also  of  the  best  of  men. 
What  infidel  ever  went  as  a  missionary  to  India  to 
labor  for  the  reformation  of  the  Hindus,  and  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  system  which  constrained  the 
mother  to  drown  her  child  in  the  Ganges,  and  the 
widow  to  die  on  the  funeral  pile  of  her  husband? 
What  infidel  ever  went  to  contend  ao^ainst  the  big:- 
otry,  tyranny,  and  sensuality  of  the  Turk  ?  What  in- 
fidel ever  wrote  a  tract  to  reform  the  drunkard  and 
the  libertine?  Oh  no!  It  is  Christianity  which  the 
infidel  is  bent  on  reforming.  He  wishes  to  destroy 
belief  in  the  supernatural  origin  of  Christianity,  so 
that  the  way  may  be  prepared  for  a  still  higher  re- 
ligious 'development!'  It  is  too  small  a  business  for 
him  to  labor  for  the  reformation  of  the  drunkard, 
the  liar,  the  libertine,  the  Hindu,  the  Turk,  and  the 
Mormon.  He  is  not  content  to  labor  for  the  dissem- 
ination of  the  best  religion  and  purest  morality 
among  the  ignorant  and  degraded  millions  of  our 
race.  He  is  afraid  that  mankind  will  have  too  high 
a  regard  for  this  best  religion  and  purest  morality 
known  among  men.  He  wants  something  better. 
He  longs  for  *a  higher  development!'  But  it  is  high 
time  w^e  had  *a  higher  development'  of  morality 
32 


374  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

than  the  Christian,  if  we  are  ever  to  have  it  at  all. 
Eighteen  hundred  years  and  more  have  passed  away 
since  the  Christian  morality  began  to  make  its  way 
in  the  world — eighteen  hundred  years  of  change, 
scientific  investigation,  intellectual  progress,  and  ad- 
vancing civilization.  But  as  yet  no  'higher  develop- 
ment^ has  been  brought  to  light,  and  the  morality 
of  the  Bible  is  a  finality.  Infidels,  freed  from  j)reju- 
dice  and  bigotry  and  from  the  trammeling  belief  in  a 
book  revelation,  point  out  no  defect  and  suggest  no 
improvement,  though  longing  and  sighing  for  some- 
thino^  hio;her  and  better.  This  fact  seems  to  indi- 
cate  that  the  morality  'developed'  among  the  'bigo- 
ted' and  'fanatical'  Jews  is  not  only  the  noblest 
and  best  known  among  men,  but  is  also  faultless 
and  perfect. 

4.  The  moral  excellence  and  purifying  influence 
of  the  Bible,  are  also  indirectly  proved  by  the  errors 
of  those  who  have  rejected  it.  The  most  famous  in- 
fidels have  propagated  some  very  immoral  opinions, 
and  maintained  some  very  immoral  practices.  AYe 
refer  not  to  the  errors  which  such  men  committed  in 
common  with  the  people  of  their  age  or  through  ex- 
traordinary temptation,  but  to  errors  which  they 
committed  in  opposition  to  the  sentiments  of  their 
age,  and  which  they  never  regretted.  Hume,  though 
perhaps  free  from  immorality  (being  brought  up 
under  the  influence  of  Christianity),  advocated  the 
lawfulness  of  self-murder,  and  also  of  deceit  and 
falsehood.  In  one  case  he  advocated  and  advised 
hypocrisy  in  religion.  Actuated,  as  he  was,  by  lit- 
erary ambition,  and  devoting  his  life  and  labors  to 


FACTS.  375 

the  acquisition  of  fame,  he  taught  that  the  chief  duty 
of  man  is  self-aggrandizement.^  Rousseau  inculcated 
the  disregard  of  chastity,  and  of  the  sanctity  of  the 
marriage  tie.  He  sent  his  own  illegitimate  children 
to  the  foundling  hospital.  Hobbes  taught  that  the 
will  of  the  sovereign  is  the  source  of  all  moral  law 
and  duty;  and  that,  therefore,  in  religion  and  mor- 
als, all  should  conform  to  the  will  of  the  sovereign, 
however  seemingly  unreasonable  and  wicked  it  may 
be.  Even  Hume  declares  that  ^Hobbes'  politics  are 
fitted  only  to  promote  tyranny,  and  his  ethics  to  en- 
courage licentiousness.'^  Bolingbroke  recommended 
polygamy,  and  condemned  only  the  higher  degrees 
of  incest.  He  condemned  the  intermarriage  of 
fathers  with  their  daughters,  and  of  sons  with  their 
mothers;  but  not  of  brothers  with  their  sisters.  He 
maintained  that  the  modesty  which  human  beings 
have,  but  of  which  beasts  are  destitute,  is  artificial; 
and  that  it  is  produced  by  human  laws,  prejudice, 
and  habit.^  Gothe,  who  was  splendidly  endowed 
both  physically  and  mentally,  and  who  had  the  power 
and  opportunity  to  do  much  to  elevate  and  purify 
mankind,  was  actuated  by  ambition  and  selfishness. 
He  had  a  high  appreciation  of  the  grand  and  beauti- 
ful, but  was  destitute  of  self-sacrificing  benevolence 
and  moral  earnestness.  He  deliberately  permitted 
himself  in  license  which  morality  condemns;  and 
justified  himself  in  so  doing,  on  the  ground  that  it 
is  not  the  doing  of  any  particular  thing  that  is 
wrong,  but  the  not  being  able  to  help  doing  it,  and 

» Lawrence,  vol.  2,  pp.  1-225.     *  His.  of  Eng.  ch.  G3. 
'  Phil.  Works,  vol.  4,  Ess,  17-20. 


376  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

that  men  who  have  themselves  under  self-control 
may  allow  themselves  indulgences  which  in  others 
would  be  sinful.  The  absence  of  all  self-reproach 
on  account  of  his  son  born  out  of  wedlock,  and  his 
delay  of  fifteen  years  to  marry  the  mother,  are  sad 
indications  of  a  want  of  conscience  and  of  moral 
principle.^  The  poet  Shelley,  who  reviled  Christi- 
anity as  an  execrable  thing,  and  denied  the  existence 
of  God,  denounced  ^  marriage  as  hateful  and  detesta- 
ble, and  as  the  fruit  of  superstition/  He  abandoned 
his  wife  without  any  serious  misconduct  on  her 
part,  and  lived  with  another  woman.  This  woman 
he  married,  after  his  wife  had  died  by  her  own 
hands.  He  and  his  second  wife  submitted  to  the 
marriage  ceremony  merely  out  of  respect  to  *the 
prejudices  of  mankind.'  Voltaire,  though  possess- 
ing a  keen  intellect,  was  vain,  greedy,  deceitful,  and 
a  deliberate  liar.^  Frederick  the  Great  possessed 
some  great  qualities,  but  was  chiiracterized  also  by 
great  defects  and  errors.  Had  not  Ludmilla  Ass- 
ing  published  the  correspondence  of  Humboldt,  the 
world  might  have  believed  him  to  have  been  a  man 
of  great  soul  and  heart,  as  well  as  great  intellect  and 
scientific  attainments.  But  in  his  correspondence  he 
is  revealed  to  us  as  uncharitable,  faithless,  a  flatterer, 
and  backbiter.  Byron  was  proud,  selfish,  revenge- 
ful, and  sensual;  though  it  is  pleasing  to  know  that 
in  his  latest  years  he  seemed  to  aspire  to  a  higher 
life.     Paine  need  scarcely  be  named — most  skeptics 

^Life  and  Works,  by  Lewes,  vol.  2.  p.  36L  ^Macaulay's 
essay  on  Frederick  the  Great.  Carlyle's  Frederick  the  Great, 
B.  IG,  chs.  7,  12. 


FACTS.  377 

of  the  present  day  are  ashamed  of  him.  The  infi- 
dels who  figured  in  France  near  the  close  of  the  last 
century  are  useful  to  mankind  as  fri^^htful  examples. 
Mirabeau,  the  greatest  of  them,  was  a  man  of  very 
bad  morals.  Strauss,  the  famous  German  rational- 
ist, is  described  as  cold,  selfish,  and  heartless.  He 
married  an  actress,  from  whom  he  was  soon  di- 
vorced, it  is  asserted  on  account  of  incompatibility 
of  temper,  and  of  his  extreme  selfishness  of  disposi- 
tion.^ Compte,  author  of  Positive  Philosophy,  was 
an  atheist,  advocating  the  worship  of  humanity  as 
a  Supreme  Being.^  He  thought  that  men  ought 
to  worship  women  as  the  best  types  of  humanity, 
mothers  as  representatives  of  Past  humanity;  wives, 
of  Present  humanity;  daughters,  of  Future  human- 
ity. Yet  he  certainly  had  no  worshipful  feelings 
toward  his  own  wife.  For  he  did  not  live  with  her, 
and  declared  that  his  marriage  was  the  only  error  he 
ever  committed. 

Such  are  the  errors  into  which  the  most  gifted 
men  fall  when  they  abandon  the  Bible  as  a  guide  in 
morals.  If  they  will  not  walk  in  its  light,  they 
wander  and  stumble  as  blind  men,  or  as  walking  in 
darkness.  Good  men  err  with  the  age  in  which 
they  live.  They  sometimes  fall  into  serious  errors 
of  which  they  are  ashamed.  But  the  errors  enumer- 
ated above  are  such  as  nearly  all  enlightened  people 
condemn,  yet  the  authors  of  them  gave  no  sign  of 
repentance.  A  book  which  keeps  men  from  falling 
into  such  errors  must  be  of  great  moral  excellence. 
1  Schaff's  Person  of  Christ,  pp.  228-9.       ^  Grand  Etre. 


32* 


CHAPTER  yil. 

THE  TESTIMONY  OF  SKEPTICS  TO  THE  MORAL 
EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

The  excellence  of  the  Bible  morality  has  been  ad- 
mitted even  by  the  most  distinguished  men  who  have 
opposed  or  doubted  its  supernatural  revelation.  Gib- 
bon, though  he  endeavored  to  impair  confidence  in 
the  divine  origin  of  Christianity  by  insinuations  and 
artful  colorings,  admits  the  purity  and  benevolence 
of  its  doctrines,  and  the  sanctity  of  its  moral  precepts. 
He  declares  that  ^  if  we  consider  the  purity  of  the 
Christian  religion,  the  sanctity  of  its  moral  precepts, 
and  the  innocent  as  well  as  austere  lives  of  the  great- 
er number  of  those  who  during  the  first  ages  em- 
braced the  faith  of  the  gospel, — we  should  naturally 
suppose  that  so  benevolent  a  doctrine  would  have 
been  received  with  due  reverence,  even  by  the  unbe- 
lieving world.'^  Byron  said;  ^Christianity  is  the 
purest  and  most  liberal  religion  in  the  world.  *  * 
*  I  admire  the  liberal  and  truly  charitiible  princi- 
ples which  Christ  has  laid  down.'  Carlyle  says; 
*The  Christian  religion,  once  here,  cannot  again  pass 
away;  in  one  or  the  other  form,  it  will  endure  through 
all  time;  as  in  Scripture  so  also  in  the  heart  of  man 
is  written,  the  Gates  of  Hell  shall  not  prevail  against 

^  Decline  and  Fall,  ch.  IG. 
378 


TESTIMONY   OF  SKEPTICS.  379 

it.  Were  the  memory  of  this  Faith  never  so  ob- 
scured,— as  indeed,  in  all  times,  the  coarse  passions 
and  perceptions  of  the  world  do  all  but  obliterate 
it  in  the  hearts  of  most, — yet  in  every  pure  soul,  in 
every  Poet  and  Wise  Man,  it  finds  a  new  Mission- 
ary, a  new  Martyr,  till  the  great  volume  of  Univer- 
sal History  is  finally  closed,  and  man's  destinies  are 
fulfilled  in  this  earth.  It  is  a  height  to  which  the 
human  species  were  fated  and  enabled  to  attain;  and 
from  which,  having  once  attained  it,  they  can  never 
retrograde.'^  Lord  Bolingbroke  says  that  ^  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  is  one  continued  lesson  of  the  strictest 
morality,  of  justice,  of  benevolence,  and  of  universal 
charity.'^  Benjamin  Franklin,  five  weeks  before  his 
death,  said  of  Christ,  'I  think  his  system  of  morals 
and  his  religion,  as  he  left  them  to  us,  the  best  the 
world  ever  saw  or  is  like  to  see;  but  I  apprehend  it 
has  received  various  corrupting  changes,  and  I  have, 
with  most  of  the  present  Dissenters  in  England,  some 
doubts  as  to  his  divinity;  though  it  is  a  question  I 
do  not  dogmatize  upon,  having  never  studied  it.'^ 
Thomas  Jefferson,  in  speaking  of  Christ  as  a  teacher, 
says,  *He  set  forth  sublime  ideas  of  the  supreme 
Being,  aphorisms  and  precepts  of  the  purest  morality 
and  benevolence,  with  an  eloquence  and  persuasive- 
ness which  have  not  been  surpassed.'  He  also  says, 
that  in  the  discourses  of  Christ  *  we  have  the  outlines 
of  a  system  of  the  most  sublime  morality  which  has 
ever  fallen  from  the  lips  of  man.'^  It  is  well  known 
that  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  skeptical  in  regard  to 

^  Essay  on  Voltaire.    ^  phU.  Works,  vol.  4,  p.  144.    ^  Sparks' 
Life,  p.  515.    *  Jeflferson's  Writings,  vol.  7,  pp.  139,  165. 


380  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

religion  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  During 
the  first  year  of  his  imprisonment  at  St.  Helena,  he 
declared  that  all  our  religions  are  the  work  of  men; 
and  that  his  own  belief  was  shocked  and  undecided 
as  soon  as  he  began  to  reason,  which  happened  to  him 
at  the  early  age  of  thirteen.  Yet  during  the  time  of 
his  skepticism  he  recognized  the  excellence  of  the 
Christian  morality.  On  one  occasion  he  read  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  from  the  commencement  to 
the  close,  'expressing  himself  struck  with  the  highest 
admiration  of  the  purity,  the  sublimity,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  morality  which  it  contained.'  It  ap- 
pears that  before  his  death  his  doubts  were  removed, 
and  that  he  became  a  full  believer  in  the  Christian 
religion.  He  confessed,  and  received  the  sacrament 
of  the  Supper.  It  is  perhaps  due  to  the  truth  of 
history  to  state  that  Bonaparte,  at  the  time  of  mak- 
ing a  profession  of  his  faith,  declared  that  even  while 
he  was  on  the  imperial  throne  he  w^as  at  the  bottom 
of  his  heart  a  believer;  and  that  if  any  one  had 
questioned  him  directly,  his  reply  would  have  been, 
yeSj  I  am  a  Christian}  But  whatever  may  have  been 
the  belief  or  the  doubts  of  this  remarkable  man,  his 
testimony  to  the  excellence  of  the  Christian  morality 
is  very  decided.  Gothe, — who  at  times  approached 
the  strictness  of  the  stricter  sects  and  at  others  went 
whole  lengths  in  skepticism, — regarded  the  Gospels 
as  being  what  he  called  genuine,  that  is,  'as  harmoni- 
zing with  the  purest  nature  and  reason,  and  minis- 
tering to   man's   highest   development.'     AVhen   he 

'Abbott's  Napoleon  at  St.  Helena,  pp.  244,  344,  G15. 


TESTIMONY   OF   SKEPTICS.  381 

was  eighty  two  years  old,  he  made  the  following  de- 
claration; 'Let  mental  culture  go  on  advancing,  let 
science  go  on  gaining  in  depth  and  breadth,  and  the 
human  intellect  expand  as  it  may, — it  will  never  go 
beyond  the  elevation  and  moral  culture  of  Christian- 
ity, as  it  shines  forth  in  the  Gospels.^  Earnest 
Renan,  after  speaking  of  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
doctrines  of  Christ  had  been  taught  among  the  Jews 
prior  to  his  time,  and  saying  that  concerning  alms, 
piety,  good  works,  gentleness,  the  desire  of  peace,  and 
complete  disinterestedness  of  heart,  he  had  little  to 
add  to  the  teachings  of  the  synagogue, — makes  the 
declaration  that  'the  evangelical  morality  remains 
none  the  less  the  highest  creation  which  has  ema- 
nated from  the  human  conscience;  the  most  beauti- 
ful code  of  perfect  life  that  any  moralist  has  traced.'^ 
Our  next  and  last  quotation  is  from  the  Westminster 
Review.  In  an  article,  in  which  an  effort  is  made 
to  account  for  Christianity  as  a  thing  of  merely  hu- 
man origin  and  natural  growth,  that  journal  says  ;  'A 
characteristic  merit  of  the  religion  first  taught  by 
Jesus  in  the  corn-fields  and  on  the  hill- tops  of  Judea, 
is  its  unrelenting  hatred  and  systematic  discourage- 
ment of  vice  and  crime,  and  its  inforcement  of  moral 
obligation.  *  *  *  Its  ideal  of  holiness,  its  in- 
visible God,  its  Omnipresent  Christ — the  symbol  of 
suffering  and  glorified  humanity,  and  the  memorial 
image  of  self-devotion — its  aspirations,  through  sor- 
row and  defeat,  towards  a  future  of  sinless  perfection 
and  calm  eternal  joy  ;  its  control  of  the  realm  of  fee  1- 

*  Life  and  Works  of  Gotlie,  by  Lewes,  vol.  2,  pp.  397-8. 
^  Vie  de  Jesus,  ch.  5. 


382  MORAL  EXCELLENCE. 

ings  and  imaginative  faculty,  and  the  solace  and  sup- 
port which  its   faith   in  the  beautiful  unseen    world 
has  supplied  to  thousands  of  lonely  men  and  women, 
are  elements  of  a  beneficent  operation  which  we  can- 
not over-rate.      It  is  true  that  this  influence  has  not 
always  been  for  good.     Emotion  has  weakened  intel- 
lect;  imagination  has   betrayed  reason;  and  enthu- 
siasm, dreaming  of  heavenly  bliss,   has  overlooked 
terrestrial  duties.     But  to  oppose  the  sensualism  and 
materialism  of  Pagan  civilization,  Christianity  had  no 
alternative  but  to  create  in  the  spirit  of  reaction  an 
ideal  world,   with  ideal  duties,  ideal  pleasures,  and 
ideal  pains.     In  endeavoring  to  counteract  the  vile 
materialism  and  atrocious  wickedness  of  the  old  so- 
cial system,  the  religion  of  the  cross,  true  to  its  origin, 
continued  to  prohibit  the  love  of  the  world  and  the 
things  of  the  world,  and  make  an  unknown  and  super- 
sensuous  region  the  centre  to  which  intellect,  afiPec- 
tion,  and  action  should  gravitate.  A  retributive  para- 
dise, it  may  be,  was  necessary  to  allure  the  saint  to 
holiness;  a  retributive  Tartarus  ''to  keep  the  wretch 
in  order.^'    Ere  long  a   better  day  may  dawn  which 
will  admit  of  a  nobler,  because  of  a  less  self-regarding 
morality;  and  the  true  disinterestedness  inherent  in 
the  Christian  type  of  character,  may  acquire  in  a  fu- 
ture all  too  distant,  a  growth  and  energy   which  are 
now  denied  it  by  a  theology  whose  parent  principle 
is,  in  true   if  abstract  language, — the  salvation    of 
selfishness.^ 

On  the  above  extract,  we  make  a  few  remarks : 
^  July  1863,  pp.  15—16. 


TESTIMONY   OF   SKEPTICS.  383 

1.  The  writer  assumes  that  Christianity  deals 
largely  in  fiction.  AYithout  proof  or  argument,  he 
represents  Christianity  as  creating  an  ideal  world, 
with  ideal  duties,  pleasures,  and  pains.  He  also 
speaks  of  future  retribution  as  a  thing  of  the  im- 
agination. This  spirit  of  dogmatism  characterizes 
many  infidel  writers.  They  assume  and  assert  the 
impossibility  and  incredibility  of  miracles  and  of 
every  thing  supernatural,  and  hence  as  a  logical  con- 
sequence they  assume  that  the  supernatural  inspira- 
tion of  the  Scriptures,  the  supernatural  birth  and 
character  of  Christ,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the 
final  judgment,  heaven  and  hell,  are  mere  fictions. 
Men  who  thus  dogmatize  at  the  very  threshold  of 
the  question,  incapacitate  themselves  both  for  candid 
investigation  and  fair  discussion. 

2.  The  writer,  however,  with  patronizing  air,  re- 
marks that  *  perhaps  a  retributive  Tartarus  was  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  wretch  in  order,^  and  thus  justifies 
Christianity  in  teaching  the  fiction  of  future  retribu- 
tion. But  if  the  idea  of  hell  punishment  was  necessary 
to  enforce  moral  obligation,  it  may  be  the  omniscient 
Governor  of  the  world  was  aware  of  that  necessity  and 
provided  for  it;  and  hence  future  retribution  may 
be  a  dreadful  reality,  just  as  the  Bible  and  Christ- 
ianity assert  and  teach.  The  necessity  of  something 
in  addition  to  temporal  rewards  and  punishments  to 
restrain  the  wickedness  of  men,  was  not  confined  to 
the  period  in  which  Christianity  originated.  After 
eighteen  centuries  have  rolled  round,  ^the  fear  of 
hell'  is  still  needed  Ho  keep  the  wretch  in  order.' 
Burns  thought  so  at  least,  and  many  others.     There 


384  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

may  be  a  reality  in  a  thing  so  much  and  so  long 
needed.  Has  not  the  infinitely  wise  God  provided 
for  the  moral  as  well  as  the  physical  wants  of  men? 
On  this  subject  as  well  as  on  some  others,  infidels 
would  do  well  to  suppress  some  of  their  assurance 
and  dogmatism. 

3.  The  charge,  that  the  parent  principle  of  Chris- 
tianity is  the  salvation  of  selfishness,  and  that  its 
morality  is  self-regarding,  is  in  keeping  with  the 
assumptions  and  dogmatism  which  infidels  generally 
employ  in  discussing  the  origin  of  Christianity. 
The  charge  is  made  with  cool  assurance,  as  if  no  one 
would  dare  deny  it.  The  truth  is,  however,  that 
Christianity  has  ever  arrayed  itself  against  the  sel- 
fishness of  men.  One  of  the  prominent  features  of 
its  morality  is  its  inculcation  of  disinterested,  self- 
denying,  universal  benevolence.  It  commands  us  to 
love  our  fellow-men  as  ourselves,  to  love  our  ene- 
mies, and  to  do  good  to  those  who  injure  us.  It 
sets  fortii  Christ  as  our  example,  whom  it  represents 
as  sutFeri ng  the  most  shameful  indignities  and  a  most 
disgraceful  death  in  the  room  of  the  wretched  and 
unworthy.  Indeed,  disinterested  and  self-sacrificing 
benevolence  is  the  crowning  Christian  virtue.  This 
is  admitted  by  the  writer  when  he  says  that  Hrne 
disinterestedness  is  inherent  in  the  Christian  type  of 
character.'  After  this  declaration,  it  would  seem 
that  the  remark  about  the  self-regarding  morality 
of  Cliristianity  could  have  been  prompted  only  by  a 
desire  to  find  fault. 

4.  The  writer  admits  the  improvement  of  Chris- 
tian morality  for  the  present  to  be  hopeless.     As  we 


TESTIMONY   OF    SKEPTICS.  385 

have  shown,  the  poet  Gothe  thought  that  the  human 
mind,  let  it  advance  as  it  may,  will  never  go  beyond 
the  moral  culture  of  Christianity  as  it  appears  in  the 
Gospels.  But  the  writer  with  whom  we  are  now 
dealing  hopes  for  an  improvement  upon  the  Chris- 
tian morality  in  the  remote  future.  That  improve- 
ment, however,  if  it  does  take  place,  will  be  but  the 
expansion  of  Hhe  true  disinterestedness  inherent  in 
the  Christian  type  of  character.' 

5.  Many  skeptics  speak  of  the  Christian  morality 
as  being  unknown  until  the  time  of  Christ.  They 
speak  of  him  as  a  moral  genius — a  religious  prodigy 
— a  colossal  man;  and  as  announcing  for  the  first 
time  the  truths  and  duties  of  the  Christian  moral- 
ity. The  fact  is,  however,  that  his  main  business 
as  a  moral  teacher  was  to  re-state  and  illustrate 
old  truths.  This  is  the  law  and  the  prophets,  was 
his  frequent  declaration.  The  fact  that  his  teach- 
ing consisted  largely  in  the  re-production  of  Old 
Testament  truths,  is  well  presented  in  the  essay 
from  which  the  above  extract  is  given.  'His  moral 
teaching,  which  bears  an  occasional  resemblance  to 
that  of  the  Essenes,  was  anti-rabinical;  having  for 
its  final  result  the  enlargement  and  re-vivification  of 
the  Mosaic  law.  The  originality  of  the  new  Teach- 
er consisted  mainly  in  the  earnest  living  re-statement 
of  old  simple  truths,  obscured  by  pedantry  or  over- 
laid by  custom.^  The  fact  thus  set  forth  is  also 
fully  recognized  by  Renan.  Perhaps  its  recognition 
by  infidels  is  owing  to  their  desire  to  commend  the 
'development'  theory  concerning  the  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  the  fact  was  asserted  by  Christ  him- 
33 


386  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

self  according  to  the  statements  of  his  biographers; 
and  we  find  that  in  his  reported  discourses  are 
re-produced  the  truths  contained  in  the  Law,  the 
Psalms,  and  the  Prophecies.  Yes,  the  beautiful  and 
sublime  morality  taught  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth — so 
benevolent  and  pure,  with  its  doctrines  of  love  and 
forgiveness,  of  loving  one's  enemies,  of  returning 
good  for  evil,  and  of  doing  all  things  to  others 
which  we  would  have  them  do  unto  us — the  moral- 
ity, which  even  infidels  declare  to  be  the  highest 
attainment  of  the  human  mind,  and  in  commenda- 
tion of  which  they  exhaust  the  resources  of  language 
— was  known  to  the  Jews,  and  was  contained  in 
their  writings  hundreds  of  years  before  the  appear- 
ance of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  yill. 

EECAPITUI.ATION   AND   CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

The  incomparable  excellence  of  the  Bible  moral- 
ity, as  presented  in  the  preceding  chapters,  may  be 
summed  up  as  follows: 

1.  Its  underlying  principles  are  most  excellent; 
and  it  is  armed  with  the  highest  authority  and  sanc- 
tions. It  inculcates  right  affections  and  desires  ra- 
ther than  external  righteousness, — seeks  to  infuse 
into  men  good  principles  and  motives,  and  to  purify 
their  feelings  and  consciences,  rather  than  to  govern 
them  by  minute  prescriptions  and  mechanical  rules. 
It  excels  in  the  brevity  and  comprehensiveness  of 
its  statements — the  Decalogue,  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  and  many  brief  passages  in  the  Law,  the 
Proverbs,  Prophecies,  Gospels,  and  Epistles  enunci- 
ate principles,  which  reach  to  the  depth  and  height 
of  human  obligation,  forbid  all  sin,  and  include 
every  duty  and  all  morality. 

2.  The  objections  that  are  urged  against  it  are 
founded  on  mis-translations  and  mis-interpretations; 
on  the  sinful  actions  of  good  men  recorded  but  not 
sanctioned:  and  on  moral  evils  amonor  the  Jews 
which  their  moral  code  tolerated,  curtailed,  and  con- 
demned; or  they  are  such  as  lie  with  equal  force 
against   the   moral   government  and   providence  of 

387 


388  MORAL    EXCELLENCE. 

God.  The  real  or  supposed  bad  morals  of  the  He- 
brews, and  tlie  criminal  actions  of  their  best  men, 
only  make  tlie  moral  excellence  of  their  writings 
more  remarkable. 

3.  The  moral  excellence  of  the  Bible  is  seen  in 
the  glorious  and  perfect  character  of  Jesus,  whom  it 
sets  forth  as  an  object  of  admiration  and  love,  and  a 
model  for  imitation.  Since  his  faultless  character  is 
the  Bible  standard  of  moral  excellence,  it  proves  the 
Bible  morality  to  be  perfect. 

4.  The  morality  of  the  Bible  is  incomparably 
more  excellent  than  that  of  every  ancient  Gentile  na- 

,  tion.  Every  Gentile  system  of  morality  erred  both 
in  defect  and  by  excess,  omitted  or  obscured  impor- 
tant truths  and  duties,  and  inculcated  many  errors 
and  vices.  Even  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  ancient 
philosophers  inculcated  doctrines  and  practices  that 
are  shocking  and  abominable.  The  Hebrew  moral- 
ity inculcates  all  the  moral  truths,  duties,  and  vir- 
tues embraced  in  all  the  systems  of  all  the  Gentile 
nations,  and  excludes  all  their  errors. 

5.  The  Bible  has  exerted  a  powerful  influence  for 
good.  It  has  purified  many  hearts,  confirmed  waver- 
ing virtue,  and  saved  many  a  tempted  soul  from  sin 
and  ruin.  It  struggled  successfully  against  the  gen- 
eral corruption  during  the  first  centuries,  abolished 
or  curtailed  infanticide,  gladiatorial  games,  slavery, 
and  other  evils  and  abuses,  purified  marriage,  and 
elevated  woman.  It  was  the  cause  and  instrument 
of  the  Reformation,  which  was  a  moral  as  well  as 
religious  revival.  Its  moral  influence  was  exempli- 
fied in  the  pure  morals  of  the  English  Puritans  and 


RECAPITULATION.  389 

of  CromwelFs  soldiers.  Its  moral  power  is  mani- 
fested at  the  present  day  in  the  superior  morality  of 
the  countries  in  which  the  Bible  is  most  valued  and 
read,  over  that  of  the  countries  in  which  it  is  less 
valued  and  read,  or  in  which  it  is  unknown. 

6.  All  men  of  true  moral  greatness — the  men 
willing  to  labor,  dare,  and  die  in  the  cause  of  truth, 
righteousness,  and  humanity — during  eighteen  hun- 
dred years,  have  been  largely  influenced  by  the  mor- 
al principles  and  spirit  of  the  Bible.  Its  opponents 
forbear  as  a  general  thing  to  impeach  its  morality, 
but  often  assail  the  character  and  conduct  of  Chris- 
tian ministers  and  professors;  thus  betraying  a  con- 
sciousness of  its  perfection  and  invulnerability.  In- 
fidelity has  failed  to  suggest  any  improvement  in 
the  Bible  morality,  or  even  to  do  much  for  the  moral 
improvement  of  mankind.  The  greatest  heroes  and 
champions  of  whom  infidelity  can  boast  have  been, 
beyond  other  men,  characterized  by  moral  errors 
both  of  conduct  and  belief.  Not  one  of  them  can  be 
regarded  as  a  model  in  character  and  conduct. 

7.  We  have  also  the  admissions  and  declarations 
of  many  skeptics  and  thorough-going  infidels,  testi- 
fying to  the  unparalleled  excellence  of  the  Bible 
morality.  Nor  is  the  force  of  this  testimony  weak- 
ened by  the  fact,  that  some  of  the  witnesses,  while 
they  commend  the  morality  of  the  New  Testament, 
ignore  or  find  fault  with  that  of  the  Old;  since  the 
former  is  but  the  reproduction  and  expansion  of  the 
latter. 

8.  This  proved  and  admitted  fact  of  the  unparal- 
leled excellence  of  the  Bible  morality  is  not  obscured, 

33* 


390  MORAL   EXCELLENCE. 

nor  can  it  be  set  aside,  by  the  real  or  supposed  bad 
morals  of  the  Hebrews.  The  worse  their  morals  are 
shown  to  have  been,  the  more  wonderful  becomes 
the  moral  excellence  of  the  writings  that  originated 
amons:  them.  If  we  are  allowed  to  refer  to  these 
writings  as  reliable  history,  we  have  evidence  in 
them  that  the  moral  condition  of  the  nation  was 
often  deplorable.  Their  teachers,  who  were  their 
writers,  were  engaged  in  an  almost  uninterrupted 
contest  with  them  on  account  as  well  of  their  moral 
defections  as  their  religious  errors.  And  the  ques- 
tion for  those  who  deny  the  divine  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures  to  answer,  is,  how  came  these  teachers 
and  writers  to  ascend  so  far  above  their  own  age  and 
nation,  and  also  above  every  age  and  nation,  as  to 
surpass  in  moral  power  and  wisdom  all  the  moralists 
and  philosophers  of  preceding  and  succeeding  times, 
and  to  frame  a  system  of  morals  which  the  combined 
genius  and  learning  of  the  world  cannot  improve? 
and  how  came  these  uncultivated  men  to  frame  not 
only  such  a  system  of  morals,  but  also  a  most  ex- 
cellent and  sublime  theology;  and  to  embody  them 
in  writings  unequaled,  for  their  beauty  and  elo- 
quence, by  any  of  the  literary  productions  of  ancient 
or  modern  times? 


PART  IV. 

THE  POLITICAL  EXCELLENCE 
OF  THE  BIBLE, 


391 


P^RT  TV. 

THE  POLITICAL  EXCELLENCE 
OF  THE  BIBLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ITS   FREEDOM    FROM    POLITICAL    ERRORS. 

We  do  not  maintain  that  the  political  institutions 
and  laws  of  the  Hebrews  were  the  very  best  that 
could  be  devised.  Every  statesman  must  to  some 
extent  yield  to  circumstances.  It  is  the  duty  of 
lawgivers  to  frame,  not  the  best  code  of  laws  possi- 
ble, but  the  best  that  their  people  will  accept.  How 
much  the  chief  lawgiver  of  the  Jews  may  have  yield- 
ed to  their  prejudices,  existing  customs,  and  peculiar 
circumstances,  we  cannot  tell.  Nor  is  his  thus  yield- 
ing inconsistent  with  the  claim  that  he  was  guided 
by  the  inspiration  of  God.  Even  the  Almighty,  in 
giving  laws  to  a  nation,  must  either  by  a  miracle 
remove  their  prejudices,  and  change  whatever  is  pe- 
culiar in  their  customs  and  circumstances,  or  He 
must  to  some  extent  yield  to  them.  Still,  in  a  God- 
given  code, — accommodated  as  it  must  be  to  the 
prejudices,  capacities,  and  peculiar  customs  and  cir- 
cumstances of  those  for  whom  it  is  intended, — we 
would  expect  to  find  marks  of  divine  wisdom.  We 
would  expect  to  find  it  superior  to  other  codes  es- 
^  393 


394  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

tablished  in  the  same  age,  and  under  similar  circum- 
stances. 

One  of  the  peculiar  excellences  of  the  Jewish  code 
is  its  freedom  from  many  of  the  errors  which  disfigure 
all  other  ancient  codes.  We  proceed  to  point  out 
some  of  the  prevalent  political  errors  from  which 
the  Jewish  code,  and  we  may  also  say  the  Bible,  are 
free. 

1.  The  Bible  does  not  favor  despotism.  The  Israel- 
ites for  a  long  time  had  no  king.  During  their 
early  history  they  were  a  commonwealth.  They 
were  warned  by  their  prophets  of  the  evils  of  a  des- 
potic government.  When  they  desired  Samuel  to 
set  a  king  over  them,  he  ^protested  solemnly  unto 
them  and  showed  them  the  manner  of  the  king  that 
should  reign  over  them.^^  In  this  protest,  we  have 
as  striking  a  display  of  the  evils  of  despotism  as  is 
to  be  found  in  the  whole  compass  of  literature. 
Notwithstanding  the  remonstrances  of  their  prophet, 
the  people  persisted  in  demanding  a  change  in  the 
government.  He  yielded  to  the  popular  will.  Yet 
precautions  were  taken  to  guard  against  despotism. 
It  was  a  limited,  constitutional  monarchy  that  was 
established.  *  Samuel  told  the  peopk  the  manner 
of  the  kingdom,  and  wrote  it  in  a  book,  and  laid  it 
up  before  the  Lord.'-  This  is  the  oldest  political 
constitution  on  record.  But  long  before  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  monarchy,  and  in  anticipation  of 
that  event,  Moses  enacted  that  the  king  should  not 
rule  in  accordance  with  his  own  arbitrary  will,  but 
^1  Sam.  8:  11-18.  '1  Sam.  10:  25. 


FREEDOM   FROM   POLITICAL   ERRORS.         395 

should  himself  be  subject  to  law.  He  provided, 
further,  against  the  exercise  of  despotic  power,  by 
enacting  that  the  king  should  not  maintain  a  large 
cavalry  force;  nor  have  a  large  number  of  wives; 
nor  accumulate  large  treasures  of  silver  and  gold. 
During  the  commonwealth,  and,  doubtless,  generally 
under  the  monarchy,  the  people  chose  judges  and 
other  officers;  the  priesthood  alone  being  heredi- 
tary.^ The  establishment  of  the  monarchy  was  not 
owing  to  the  political  institutions  and  laws  of  the 
Jews,  nor  to  the  influence  and  machinations  of  their 
priests  and  prophets.  According  to  the  Bible  ac- 
count of  the  transaction,  the  ingrafting  of  the  mon- 
archy into  the  commonwealth  was  disapproved  of 
by  God,  who  is  represented  as  only  tolerating  it. 

2.  The  Bible  does  not  favor  slavery.  The  ancient 
lawgivers,  philosophers,  and  teachers  in  general  be- 
lieved in  the  lawfulness  and  expediency  of  hu- 
man chattelhood.  They  recognized  the  right  of  pro- 
perty in  man,  and  sanctioned  and  encouraged  the 
buying  and  selling  of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men. 
In  every  ancient  nation  of  whom  we  have  any 
knowledge,  a  portion  of  the  people  with  their  de- 
cendants  were  doomed  to  hopeless  slavery.  But  we 
have  shown  that  the  Bible,  by  its  principles  and 
spirit,  condemns  slavery;  and  that  its  influence  has 
done  much  to  mitigate  its  evils,  and  finally  eradicate 
it.^  A  species  of  servitude  was  allowed  among  the 
Jews.  They  might  have  Hebrew  servants,  and  they 
might  acquire  servants  from  the  surrounding  nations. 

^ Deut.  16 :  18.  ''Vurt  iii.  chs.  2  &  4. 


396  POLITICAL  EXCELLENCE. 

But  every  fifty  years  all  the  bond-men  became  free. 
Thus  Jewish  servitude  was  in  reality  a  system  of 
emancipation.  No  such  general  and  periodical  en- 
franchisement was  known  among  any  other  nation. 
3.  The  Bible  opposes  monopolies.  The  institution 
of  the  jubilee  prevented  the  great  accumulation  of 
wealth  in  real  estate.  With  the  exception  of  the 
priests,  there  were  no  privileged  classes,  and  none  of 
those,  except  the  high  priest,  had  any  real  advantages 
over  the  rest  of  the  people.  The  poor  as  well  as  the 
rich,  the  low-born  as  well  as  those  of  noble  rank,  were 
eligible  to  office.  All  classes  of  citizens  were  placed  on 
an  equality  before  the  law.  The  Jewish  constitution 
prescribed  that  no  legal  discrimination  should  be 
made  between  native-born  citizens  and  resident  for- 
eigners.^ It  may  be  said  that  notwithstanding  this 
and  similar  regulations,  the  Jews  did,  in  the  admin- 
istration of  justice,  discriminate  between  the  foreign- 
er and  the  home-born  citizen.  But  if  so,  the  fact 
only  demonstrates  that  their  ideas  of  justice  and  right 
did  not  come  up  to  the  standard  of  their  own  laws  ; 
which  we  very  cheerfully  grant.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  practical  treatment  of  foreigners,  their 
equality  with  native  Israelites  before  the  law  shows 
how  opposed  was  the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  jurispru- 
dence to  privileged  classes  and  monopolies.  The 
same  spirit  is  manifested  in  the  provision  that  was 
made  for  the  general  education  of  the  people.  As 
we  shall  hereafter  show,  the  people  generally  were 
taught  to  read.  Education  was  no  monopoly  among 
^Levit.  24:  22. 


FREEDOM   FROM   POLITICAL   ERRORS.         397 

them.  There  ^Vas  no  regulation  which  tended  to  con- 
fine knowledge  to  a  few  favored  persons.  It  was 
not  the  policy  of  the  great  Jewish  lawgiver  to  keep 
the  masses  in  ignorance  in  order  that  they  might  be 
the  more  easily  managed.  But  not  to  multiply  illus- 
trations, the  spirit  and  teaching  of  the  Bible  are  in 
opposition  to  the  establishment  of  monopolies  and 
privileged  classes.  It  forbids  respect  of  persons.  It 
commands  that  the  rich  and  the  poor  shall  be  treated 
alike;  that  a  man  shall  not  be  honored  on  account 
of  his  wealth  or  etegant  appearance;  and  that  even 
sympathy  for  a  poor  man  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
procure  favor  for  him  in  an  unjust  cause.^  It  enjoins 
respect  towards  princes  and  magistrates,  but  demands 
a  tender  regard  for  the  rights  and  welfare  of  the  low- 
ly and  helpless.  It  teaches  the  brotherhood  and 
natural  equality  of  all  men;  places  them  on  a  level 
before  God;  and  thus  promotes  the  establishment  of 
equal  rights  and  privileges. 

4.  The  Bible  does  not  encourage  the  infliction  of  cruel 
punishments.  Undoubtedly  some  of  the  Jewish  laws 
would  be  justly  regarded  as  cruel,  if  established 
among  any  enlightened  nation  of  modern  times. 
But  the  Hebrews,  according  to  the  testimony  of  their 
own  writers,  were  obstinate  and  rebellious.  At  the 
time  of  the  enactment  of  their  civil  laws,  they  had 
just  emerged  from  slavery,  and  were  but  beginning 
to  recover  from  its  demoralizing  and  debasino^  effects. 
Moreover,  their  government  was  a  theocraci/,  and  the 
willful  violation  of  some  of  their  moral  and  religious 

'Ja.  2:  1—9.     Ex.23:  3. 

34 


398  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

regulations  was  justly  regarded  as  rebellion  and  trea- 
son against  the  state — which  in  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries have  been  severely  punished.  For  these  rea- 
sons, some  punishments  were  necessary  and  proper 
among  them,  that  would  appear  unjustly  severe  if 
inflicted  among  us.  The  infliction  of  the  death-pen- 
alty on  the  violator  of  the  Sabbath  appears  dispro- 
portionably  severe  compared  with  the  offense.  But 
among  the  Hebrews,  constituted  as  they  were  under 
the  theocracy.  Sabbath-desecration  endangered  the 
existence  of  the  government  and  of  society.  Their 
whole  civil  polity  was  based  upon  their  religion,  and 
was  so  blended  with  it  that  they  could  only  stand 
or  fall  together.  The  preservation  of  their  reli- 
gion depended  upon  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
Hence  the  violation  of  the  Sabbath  was  a  crime 
against  the  state,  and  was  punished  like  rebellion 
and  treason.  No  punishment  that  is  necessary  is 
either  cruel  or  unjust.  To  shoot  a  soldier  for  cow- 
ardice, or  for  sleeping  at  his  post,  is  certainly  a  se- 
vere punishment;  but  if  it  is  necessary,  it  is  proper 
and  right. 

But  on  the  whole,  the  Mosaic  jurisprudence,  for 
the  times  and  circumstances,  was  remarkable  for  its 
mildness.  Seventeen  crimes  were,  indeed,  made  pun- 
ishable with  death.  But  this  number  appears  wonder- 
fully small  when  we  look  at  the  penal  laws  even  of 
modern  nations.  In  Great  Britain  less  than  fifty 
years  ago,  two  hundred  offenses  were  punishable 
with  death.  Even  trivial  acts  were  capital  felonies 
on  the  statute  book.  According  to  law,  for  cutting 
down  a  hop  vine,  or  a  young  tree  in  a  gentleman's 


FREEDOM    FROM    POLITICAL    ERRORS.         399 

pleasure  ground,  or  for  having  his  face  blackened 
at  night,  a  man  might  be  hanged,  without  benefit  of 
clergy!^  In  comparison  with  such  legislation,  and 
with  much  of  the  legislation  of  modern  times,  the 
criminal  laws  of  the  Jews  were  exceedingly  lenient. 
It  should  be  remembered  also,  that  imprisonment  for 
life  was  not  prescribed  as  a  punishment  by  the  He- 
brew code;  and  that  owing  to  the  condition  of  the 
nation  during  the  earlier  portion  of  their  history,  the 
imprisonment  of  criminals  was  almost  impossible. 
Hence  the  more  frequent  infliction  of  the  death 
penalty.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  disparity  be- 
tween the  number  of  capital  offenses  recognized  by 
the  Jewish  penal  code  and  the  number  recognized 
by  the  penal  codes  of  many  modern  nations,  is  very 
great  and  striking.  The  comparative  mildness  of 
that  ancient  code  is  conspicuous  in  another  respect. 
It  took  away  from  fathers  the  right  of  killing  their 
children.  An  unworthy  son  might,  indeed,  be  pun- 
ished with  death;  but  not  until  he  had  been  tried 
and  condemned  before  'the  elders  of  his  city.^  It 
was  necessary  that  both  his  father  and  mother  should 
appear  as  his  accusers,  and  should  prove  him  guilty 
of  stubbornness,  rebellion,  disobedience,  gluttony, 
and  drunkenness.  It  was  prescribed  that  after  his 
trial  and  condemnation  'all  the  men  of  his  city 
should  stone  him  with  stones.'^  How  humane  are 
these  enactments  compared  with  the  law  so  preva- 
lent in  ancient  times  which  constituted  the  father  the 
accuser,  j udge,  and  executioner  of  his  own  children; 

» Mackintosh,  Misc.  Works,  pp.  529—530. 
^Deut.  21:  18—21. 


400  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

and  even  authorized  him  to  kill  them  without  accu- 
sation or  trial  at  all! 

The  torturing  of  accused  persons,  and  of  witnesses, 
was  not  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Hebrews.  The 
wheel,  the  rack,  the  boot,  and  the  thumbscrew,  were 
unknown  among  them.  In  this  respect  they  set  an 
example  which  the  most  enlightened  nations  have 
only  of  late  become  wise  enough  to  imitate.  The 
testimony  of  two  witnesses  was  necessary  to  the 
conviction  of  accused  persons.  The  mode  of  inflic- 
ting capital  punishment  was  stoning,^  though  the 
body  of  the  criminal  was  sometimes  after  execution 
burned  or  hanged  temporarily  on  a  tree.^  Other 
modes  of  execution  borrowed  from  foreign  nations 
were  in  subsequent  times  introduced,  but  were  not 
authorized  by  the  laws.  Consider  in  connection 
with  this  fact,  the  numerous  and  in  some  cases  mon- 
strous modes  of  executing  criminals  practised  by  the 
most  enlightened  nations  in  modern  as  well  as  in 
ancient  times — hanging,  shooting,  beheading,  stab- 
bing, drowning,  burning,  bleeding,  starving,  poison- 
ing, garroting,  burning  alive,  impaling,  crucifying, 
throwing  to  wild  beasts,  throwing  over  precipices, 
disemboweling,  quartering,  pulling  to  pieces,  dis- 
jointing, tearing  with  pincers,  beating  with  rods, 
roasting  by  a  slow  fire,  and  other  modes  devised  by 
ingenious  cruelty  to  inflict  disgrace  and  prolong 
^gony.  Such  punishments  were  not  authorized  by 
the  laws  of  the  Hebrews,  and  only  a  very  few  of 
them  were  ever  introduced  among  them. 

^Lev.  20:  1.     Deut.  21:  21-24. 

2 Lev.  20:  14;  21:  9;  Deut.  21:  22—23. 


FREEDOM   FROM   POLITICAL   ERRORS.         401 

Still  farther;  though  the  penal  code  of  the  He- 
brews authorized  scourging  as  a  punishment  for 
various  offenses,  it  forbade  the  infliction  of  more 
than  forty  lashes.  Had  the  humanity  which  dicta- 
ted this  prohibition  been  universally  prevalent,  it 
would  have  prevented  the  cruel  flogging  of  sailors 
in  the  navies  of  the  most  enlightened  nations  of 
modern  times.  The  trial  of  jealousy  was  very  hu- 
mane toward  the  accused  wife.^  It  might  strike 
terror  into  the  conscience  of  the  guilty,  but  it  could 
not  injure  the  innocent.  Though  Hhe  bitter  water' 
was  in  itself  harmless,  the  guilty  would  scarcely  dare 
drink  of  it  and  incur  the  dreadful  curse  which  ac- 
companied it.  Very  different  to  an  innocent  person 
was  the  ordeal  of  later  times.  In  the  duel,  the  inno- 
cent party  was  perhaps  as  often  defeated  and  killed 
as  the  guilty.  The  wife,  whether  innocent  or  guilty, 
was  scorched  by  the  red-hot  iron  which  was  thrust 
into  her  hands,  or  by  the  red-hot  ploughshares  over 
which  she  w^as  compelled  to  w^alk,  or  by  the  melted 
lead  that  was  poured  over  her  body.  When  thrown, 
with  her  hands  and  feet  fettered,  into  the  water,  she 
would  of  course  sink  and  be  drowned.  But  amons; 
the  Jews,  the  susj^ected  wife  had  an  ordeal  which 
could  not  injure  her  if  innocent,  though  it  might 
fail  to  detect  her  if  guilty.  Lastly,  the  Hebrew 
laws  did  not  punish  the  unfortunate  debtor  as  a 
criminal.  They  did  not  authorize  imprisonment  for 
debt.  A  poor  man  might,  indeed,  be  sold,  or  rather 
might  sell  himself,^ — that  is,  might  for  a  stipulated 

'  Numb.  5:  13-31.     ^Lev.  25:  39,  47. 
34* 


402  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

reward  bind  himself  to  serve  another  for  a  limited 
time.  The  term  of  service  was  by  statute  limited  to 
six  years.  It  was  expressly  forbidden  that  a  poor 
man  should  be  sold  as  a  bondman.^  This  law  was 
perhaps  disregarded  in  times  of  moral  declension 
and  political  corruption,  when  foreign  laws  and  cus- 
toms were  introduced  and  followed.  In  this  way 
we  are  to  account  for  the  enslavement  of  debtors 
referred  to  in  2  Kings  4:  1,  in  the  book  of  Nehe- 
miah  and  the  New  Testament.  This  practice  was 
denounced  by  Nehemiah  as  disgraceful  and  wicked.^ 
The  cruel  treatment  of  poor  debtors  that  was  cus- 
tomary among  ancient  nations,  and,  until  within  a 
very  recent  period,  among  modern  nations  also,  was 
unknown  in  the  Hebrew  jurisprudence. 

But  beside  the  mildness  that  characterizes  the  Mo- 
saic code,  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  Bible  are 
opposed  to  cruelty  in  legislation,  as  well  as  in  the 
conduct  of  individuals.  It  does  not  inculcate  any 
sentiments  that  would  prevent  the  infliction  of  de- 
served punishment  on  criminals,  but  its  moral  teach- 
ing tends  to  mitigate  their  treatment.  It  requires 
that  they  shall  be  regarded  by  their  fellow-men  as 
brethren,  and  be  treated  with  all  the  kindness  con- 
sistent with  the  welfare  of  society.  The  complete 
carrying  out  of  its  principles  of  universal  brother- 
hood and  love  would  prevent  all  unnecessary  sever- 
ity in  civil  jurisprudence,  as  well  as  all  cruelty  and 
unkindness  in  the  relations  of  private  life.  So,  too, 
the  complete  carrying  out  of  its  principles  of  univ^er- 

^  Lev.  25:  30,42.     »Neh.  5:  1. 


FREEDOM    FROM    POLITICAL    ERRORS.  403 

sal  brotherhood  and  love  would  prevent  despotism, 
slavery,  the  institution  of  favored  classes,  war,  op- 
pression in  all  its  forms,  and  many  other  evils  which 
destroy  individual  happiness,  and  hinder  political 
prosperity.  The  Bible  does  not  favor  such  evils, 
but  discourages  and  opposes  them.  Its  influence 
has  at  various  times  abolished  or  curtailed  them. 
Their  complete  destruction  would  result  from  the 
adoption  of  its  principles  and  spirit  by  mankind  in 
general. 

This  freedom  from,  and  discouragement  of,  the 
political  errors  and  evils  that  have  so  generally  pre- 
vailed in  both  ancient  and  modern  times,  and  that 
so  often  have  been  established  by  law  and  custom,  is 
one  of  the  distinguishing  excellences  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. This  is  alone  sufficient  to  place  the  Hebrew 
code  above  all  other  ancient  codes,  and  also  above 
all  the  codes  of  modern  times;  except  such  as  have 
been  framed  by  nations  and  statesmen  that  were  en- 
lightened by  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   POSITIVE   EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  POLITICAL 
ETHICS   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

The  Hebrew  laws  and  the  political  ethics  of  the 
Bible  have  some  positive  excellences  which  distin- 
guish them  from  every  other  ancient  code. 

1.  The  Bible  places  civil  government  and  laws  on 
the  broad  and  sure  basis  of  theological  and  moral  truth. 
The  system  of  theology  and  morality  which  under- 
lay the  Mosaic  institutions  is  unequaled  except  by 
the  more  fully  expanded  system  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  unity  of  God,  his  paternal  character, 
his  holiness,  justice,  and  benevolence,  the  duty  of 
men  to  love  Him  supremely,  and  to  love  one  another, 
their  brotherhood  and  equality, — were  assumed  as 
the  foundation  of  the  Hebrew  jurisprudence.  To 
love  the  one  true  God  supremely  and  to  love  one's 
neighbor  as  one's-self,  are  represented  by  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  as  the  two  great  commands  on  which 
hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets.  His  teaching — 
which  even  skeptics  declare  to  be  faultless  and  sub- 
lime— was  mainly  a  reproduction  and  development 
of  the  theological  and  moral  principles  contained  in 
the  old  law  books  of  the  Jews.  Civil  government, 
according  to  the  teaching  of  Moses  and  the  Bible,  is 
ordained  of  God  for  the  promotion  of  peace,  order, 
404 


POSITIVE   CHARACTERISTICS.  405 

and  justice.  Civil  magistrates  are  his  representa- 
tives ;  and  should  be  respected  as  such,  and  should 
be  like  liim  in  character.  Civil  laws  should  be  tran- 
scripts of  the  divine  will,  and  should  be  obeyed  as 
the  laws  of  God.  Thus  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the 
Bible  ethics  are  good  and  excellent.  If  the  Hebrews 
had  given  to  the  world  nothing  but  the  great  theo- 
logical and  moral  truths  which  underlie  their  civil 
laws  and  are  blended  with  them,  they  would  still 
have  done  more  for  the  political  elevation  of  man- 
kind than  all  the  other  ancient  nations  combined. 

2.  Another  excellence  of  the  civil  code  of  the  He- 
brews consists  in  the  provisions  ivhich  it  contained  in 
behalf  of  the  poor  and  unfortunate.  It  enjoined  the 
Israelite  to  open  his  hand  and  give  to  his  poor  and 
needy  brethren.  Pie  was  reminded  that  there  would 
always  be  poor  people  in  the  land,  and  was  warned 
to  beware  of  neglecting  them.  It  was  made  his 
duty  to  provide  for  the  needy  foreigner  as  well  as 
for  the  needy  Israelite.  Again  and  again  is  the 
stranger  mentioned  along  with  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow  as  an  especial  object  of  charity.  Landholders, 
when  they  reaped  their  fields,  were  required  not  to 
glean  their  fields,  but  to  leave  the  straggling  sheaves 
for  the  stranger  y  the  father  less  j  and  the  widow.  When 
they  gathered  their  olives,  they  were  forbiden  to  go 
over  the  boughs  a  second  time,  in  order  that  some 
of  the  fruit  might  be  left  for  the  stranger,  the  falher- 
lesSy  and  the  widow.  When  they  gathered  their 
grapes,  they  were  not  allowed  to  glean  the  vines, 
in  order  that  there  might  be  some  remaining  clusters 
for  thiisti^angerj  the  fatherless  and  the  widow.    Every 


406  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

third  year,  the  same  classes  of  needy  persons,  along 
with  the  poor  Levite,  were  to  be  supplied  out  of  the 
store  of  surplus  tithes.  The  poor  hired  servant, 
whether  a  native  or  a  foreigner,  was  to  be  paid  daily, 
in  order  that  he  might  have  wherewith  to  procure  ne- 
cessaries for  himself  and  family.  There  was  a  spe- 
cial enactment  against  taking  a  widow^s  raiment  to 
pledge.  In  order  that  the  Israelites  might  be  led  by 
a  feeling  of  compassion  to  provide  for  the  poor  and 
unfortunate,  they  were  reminded  again  and  again 
that  they  themselves  had  been  sufferers  in  the  land 
ofEgypt.^ 

Such  are  the  provisions  contained  in  the  Mosaic 
code  in  behalf  of  the  poor  and  unfortunate.  There 
is  no  political  code,  ancient  or  modern,  that  manifests 
so  tender  a  regard  for  these  classes  of  persons.  In 
all  the  ancient  codes  but  the  Hebrew,  they  were  en- 
tirely or  almost  entirely  overlooked. 

3.  The  civil  laws  of  the  Hebrews  indicate  a  deli- 
cacy of  feeling  and  refinement  of  humaniiy  not  found 
in  any  other  code.  How  tender  a  regard  for  the 
poor  is  manifested  in  the  requisition,  that  if  a  poor 
man's  garment  were  taken  as  a  pledge,  it  should  be 
restored  before  the  setting  of  the  sun!^  The  law, 
which  prohibited  the  lender  from  going  into  the 
liouse  of  the  borrower  to  get  a  pledge,  and  required 
him  to  stand  without  until  it  should  be  brought  to 
him,  manifests  a  tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of  the 
indigent,  in  protecting  them  and  their  humble  homes 
from  the  unwelcome  intrusion  of  their  more  fortu- 

^Deut.  chs.  24  and  25.     =^24:  12-13. 


POSITIVE  CHARACTERISTICS.  407 

Date  neighbors.  Of  the  same  character  was  the  pro- 
hibition from  taking  a  millstone  as  a  pledge,  it  be- 
ing needed  to  grind  meal  for  the  daily  use  of 
the  family.^  There  is  also  a  refined  humanity  in 
such  laws  as  the  following:  ^Thou  shalt  not  muzzle 
the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corf — Thou  shalt  not 
seethe  a  kid  in  his  mother's  milk^ — But  flesh  with 
the  life  thereof,  which  is  the  blood  thereof,  shall  ye 
not  eaf^ — If  a  bird's  nest  chance  to  be  before  thee  in 
the  way  in  any  tree  or  on  the  ground,  thou  shalt  not 
take  the  dam  with  the  young;  but  thou  shalt  in  any 
wise  let  the  dam  go,  and  take  the  young  to  thee.'^ 
These  and  similar  regulations  were,  doubtless,  in- 
tended not  merely  to  secure  brute  animals  from  cruel 
treatment,  but  mainly  to  foster  in  men  feelings  and 
habits  of  refined  benevolence.  They  are  in  accor- 
dance with  the  sentiment  expressed  by  the  gentle 
Cowper; — 

'I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends 

(Though  graced  with  polished  manners  and  fine  sense. 

Yet  wanting  sensibility,)  the  man 

Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm.* 

Rude  and  hard-hearted  as  the  Jews  are  often  re- 
presented to  have  been,  or  as  they  may  in  reality 
have  been,  their  laws  inculcate  a  more  refined  and 
benevolent  sensibility  than  the  laws  of  any  other 
nation,  ancient  or  modern;  a  sensibility  equaled  only 
by  a  few  of  the  most  tender  and  gentle  spirits 
that  have  appeared  in  any  age  or  quarter  of  the 
world. 

'»Deut.24:  6.     "25:  4.        ^Ex.  34:  26. 
*Gen.  9:  4;  Lev.  19:  26.        ^Deut.  22:  6-7. 


408  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

4.  Another  peculiar  excellence  of  the  Hebrew 
code,  was  the  provision  it  made  for  the  jyrotection  and 
welfare  of  foreigners.  Other  ancient  codes  were  char- 
acterized by  bigotry  and  exclusiveness.  They  mani- 
fested little  concern  for  the  rights  and  welfare  of 
foreigners.  Not  so  the  Jewish  laws.  'Thou  shalt 
neither  vex  a  stranger  nor  oppress  him ;  for  ye  were 
strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt.'^  This  command  is 
often  repeated.  Often  did  the  lawgiver  of  the  Jews 
remind  them  that  they  knew  by  their  own  experi- 
ences in  Egypt  how  sad  the  stranger  feels.^  They 
were  required  to  love  him  as  they  loved  themselves, 
and  to  relieve  him  when  in  distress,  as  one  of  their 
own  brethren.'  A  servant  escaping  from  any  of 
the  surrounding  nations  was  to  be  treated  like  other 
foreigners.  The  Jews  were  not  allowed  to  deliver 
him  to  his  master,  nor  to  enslave  him  themselves, 
but  were  commanded  to  permit  him  to  live  where- 
ever  he  chose.*  The  foreigner  and  the  citizen  were 
placed  on  an  equality  before  the  law;*  but  special 
favors  to  the  foreigner  as  well  as  to  the  widow  and 
fatherless  were  required.®  This  liberal  and  catholic 
spirit  was  peculiar  to  the  Hebrew  code.  Nothing- 
equal  to  it,  or  even  like  it,  is  to  be  found  in  any 
other  ancient  code.  The  clannish  and  exclusive  spirit, 
real  or  supposed,  of  the  Jews  may  be  in  contrast 
with,  but  does  not  detract  from,  the  wisdom  and 
equity  of  their  laws.  It  only  makes  them  appear 
more  wonderful. 

5.  Another   peculiarity  of  the  civil  code  of  the 

»Ex.  22:  21.     '  23:  9.      '  Lev.  19:  33-34. 

*Deut.  23:  15-16.      ^Lev.  24:  22.      ^Deut.  24:  19. 


POSITIVE   CHARACTERISTICS.  409 

Hebrews  is,  its  repression  of  national  pride  and  arro- 
gance. In  their  laws,  frequent  reference  is  made  to 
their  humble  origin,  and  their  former  abject  condi- 
tion. Often  were  they  reminded  that  once  they 
were  a  nation  of  slaves,  despised  and  degraded.  It 
was  evidently  the  design  of  their  lawgiver  to  mortify 
their  national  vanity.  One  of  his  laws  re(][uired  the 
Israelite  to  bring  every  year  an  offering  to  the  taber- 
nacle or  temple,  and  to  say,  A  Syrian  ready  to  perish 
teas  my  Father}  Similar  in  design  was  the  command 
which  required  the  Israelite  to  teach  his  son,  saying, 
We  were  PharaoKs  bondmen  in  Egypt,"^  Again  and 
again  are  the  people  called  upon  to  sympathize  with 
strano;ers  because  thev  themselves  were  stran2:ers  in 
Egypt,  and  to  love  the  Lord  because  he  delivered 
them  from  bonda2:e.  These  humblino;  references  to 
former  national  degradation  are  peculiar  to  the  Mo- 
saic code.  None  but  the  Jewish  lawgiver  ever  thus 
endeavored  to  repress  national  pride  and  arrogance, 
and  to  foster  sympathy  and  kindness  for  the  op- 
pressed and  degraded.  Even  the  most  enlightened 
moralists  and  statesmen  of  modern  times  do  not  in 
this  respect  come  up  to  the  Mosaic  standard.  They 
encourage  national  pride  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
and  dignify  wdth  the  name  of  patriotism  and  virtue 
what  ought  rather  to  be  regarded  as  national  preju- 
dice and  selfishness. 

6.  Some  of  the  provisions  of  the  Hebrew  constitu- 
tion are  remarlzahle  anticipations  of  the  more  advanced 
political  ideas  of  modern  times.     (1)  The  world  has 
'Deut.  26:  5-6.     ^C:  21. 
35 


410  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

been  very  slow  to  learn  that  'governments  derive 
their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed/ 
but  popular  sovereignty  was  assumed  as  a  funda- 
mental truth  in  the  Jewish  polity.  Even  under  the 
monarchy,  the  will  of  tlie  nation  was  recognized  as 
sovereign.  Samuel  yielded  to  the  appointment  of  a 
king  because  the  majority  was  in  favor  of  it.^  David 
became  king  by  the  consent  of  all  Israel.^  He  ap- 
pointed Solomon  his  successor  with  the  consent  of 
the  nation.^  The  popular  sovereignty  was  manifest- 
ed by  the  meeting  of  all  Israel  to  make  Rehoboam 
king,  and  by  their  rejection  of  him  when  he  refused 
to  accede  to  their  demands.^  Doubtless  the  mon- 
archy, as  moral  and  political  corruption  increased, 
set  aside  more  and  more  the  orisrinal  constitution. 
But  in  the  Mosaic  institutes,  popular  sovereignty  is 
recognized,  and  the  expressed  will  of  the  people  is 
established  as  supreme  law;  subject  only  to  the  will 
of  God.  (2)  Our  home-stead  laws  were  anticipated 
by  the  Hebrew  lawgiver.  The  Israelite  never  lost 
liis  title  to  his  paternal  inheritance.  He  could  not, 
if  he  tried,  entirely  alienate  it.  He  could  only  lease 
it  until  the  year  of  jubilee.  Ev^ery  fiftieth  year 
every  man  returned  to  his  possession.  This  regula- 
tion was  a  most  effectual  Miomestead-exemption  law.' 
It  also  prevented  the  ownership  of  a  large  extent  of 
land  by  one  man,  and  its  accompanying  evils.  (3) 
Another  important  political  measure  of  modern  times 
anticipated  by  the  Hebrews  is,  national  education. 
Their  law  required  that  children  should  be  taught 

'  1  Sam.  8:  19-22.         '  2  Sam.  5:  1-3. 

n  Chron.  23:  1-2.    29:  20-23.        ^2  Chron.  10:  1-19. 


POSITIVE   CHAKACTERISTICS.  411 

to  read.  Parents  were  required  to  instruct  their 
children,  by  writing  the  words  of  God  on  the  posts 
of  their  houses  and  on  their  gates.^  This  requisition 
implies  both  the  ability  of  parents  to  read  and  the 
duty  of  teaching  their  children  to  read.  And  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  the  people  generally  were 
taught  to  read.  The  evangelist  speaks  of  many  of 
the  Jews  reading  the  title  that  was  put  on  the  cross 
of  Jesus.^  The  frequent  enquiry  of  Jesus  in  his  dis- 
courses was,  *Have  ye  never  read?'^^  It  does  not 
appear  that  schools  were  maintained  at  public  ex- 
pense, or  that  education  was  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  parents.  But  the  Levites,  not  having  any  inher- 
itance of  land  bestowed  upon  them,  and  being  partly 
supported  at  the  public  expense,  became  the  profess- 
ional school-teachers  of  the  nation.  ^The  school- 
master was  abroad^  among  the  ancient  Hebrews. 
They  set  the  first  example  of  popular  education. 
(4)  Another  thing  established  in  their  civil  polity, 
but  unknown  among  other  nations  until  modern 
times,  was,  the  check  of  public  opinion  on  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  government.  In  modern  free  countries 
public  opinion  finds  expression  through  the  press, 
and  thus  exerts  a  powerful  influence  on  governmen- 
tal affairs.  It  is  the  freedom  of  criticism  which 
makes  public  opinion  so  powerful.  The  public  offi- 
cer is  compelled  by  the  newspapers  to  listen  to  what 
the  people  say  about  him.  But  in  despotic  coun- 
tries, where  the  press  is  not  free,  there  is  no  channel 
for  the  expression  of  public  opinion.     In  such  coun- 

»Deut.  6:  7-9.        ^  John,  19:  19. 

»Mat.l9:  4.     Mark,  2:  25;  12:  10.     Luke,  6:  3. 


412  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

tries  kings  and  princes  hear  no  criticisms,  abuse,  or 
ridicule,  however  much  the  people  detest  and  de- 
nounce them.  But  among  the  Israelites,  popular 
sentiment  found  expression  through  their  religious 
teachers.  This  fact  is  without  a  parallel  in  all  an- 
cient history.  Among  all  other  nations  religion 
was  the  engine  of  tyranny.  Indeed,  the  priesthood 
has  generally  been  the  right  arm  of  despotism.  But 
the  Hebrew  prophets  were  the  tribunes  of  the  peo- 
ple. They  confronted  kings  and  princes  to  their 
faces.  They  broke  in  upon  the  tyrant  in  his  palace, 
surrounded  by  the  trappings  of  royality  and  the  in- 
struments of  his  wickedness;  told  him  of  his  shame- 
ful acts;  and  denounced  upon  him  the  nation's  curse 
and  Jehovah's  wrath.  Account  for  it  as  we  may, 
the  Lord's  prophets  constituted  a  sort  of  free  press 
among  the  Israelites,  and  were  even  harder  to  muz- 
zle than  modern  newspapers.  (5)  The  principle  of 
representation  was  also  recognized  in  the  Jewish 
government.  Brougham  has  declared  the  represen- 
tative principle  to  be  ^the  great  invention  of  modern 
times,'  though  he  says  the  ancient  commonwealths 
made  so  near  an  approach  to  it  that  it  is  a  wonder 
they  never  made  that  important  step  in  the  art  of 
government.^  This  principle,  however,  was  under- 
stood and  acted  on  by  the  Jews.  Officers  and  mag- 
istrates were  chosen  by  the  people,  and  represented 
the  people.  The  congregation  {all  Israel)  is  often 
spoken  of  as  doing  what  their  chosen  representatives 
did.     These  representatives  could  act   without   iu- 

*  Political  Philosophy. 


POSITIVE   CHARACTERISTICS.  413 

structions  from  the  people;  yet  they  often  referred 
their  decisions  to  the  people  for  ratification.^  (6) 
Closely  connected  with  representative  government 
was  the  matter  of  general  suffrage.  In  the  Roman 
and  other  ancient  commonwealths,  a  large  number 
of  the  people, — indeed  the  majority  of  the  people, — 
had  no  voice  in  the  government.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  cities  were  the  governors;  and  the  country 
people,  the  cultivators  of  the  soil,  had  no  political 
rio^hts.  And  even  anions^  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities,  political  rights  depended  on  birth  or  wealth. 
Thus,  as  Guizot  remarks,  the  Roman  government 
was  a  mere  municipality.^  The  city  of  Rome  was  the 
state,  the  commonwealth,  the  empire.  The  country 
was  cultivated,  but  not  peojjled.  The  right  of  suf- 
frage was  confined  to  those  who  lived  in  the  capital. 
Other  cities  were  free,  conquered  cities  even  were 
made  free,  but  had  no  voice  in  the  government. 
Their  inhabitants  were  dignified  w^ith  the  name  of 
citizenSj  but  did  not  enjoy  the  right  of  suffrage.  And 
in  Rome  itself,  such  were  the  privileges  conferred  by 
birth,  rank,  and  wealth,  that  a  large  portion  of  the 
population  had  really  no  voice  in  the  government. 
But  among  the  Jews  there  was  a  very  different  state 
of  things.  There  were  no  political  distinctions  of 
the  people.  The  prohibition  of  usury,  the  division 
of  lands,  and  the  institution  of  the  jubilee, — though 
perhaps  inexpedient  in  any  other  nation, — removed 
all  danger  from  wealth  and  inequality.  The  coun- 
try was  peopled  as  well  as  cultivated,  and  through  the 

^Deut.  1:  9-18;  Num.1:  1-22;  35:  12;  1  Sam.  11.  14-15. 
2  His.  of  Civ.  Lect.  2. 
35* 


414  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage  the  country  people 
were  the  ruling  class.  Not  only  had  the  people  in 
general  the  right  of  suffrage,  but  with  the  exception 
of  the  priesthood,  every  man  was  eligible  to  every 
office. 

Such  are  some  excellences  of  the  political  insti- 
tutes of  the  Hebrews — the  correctness  of  the  princi- 
ples on  which  they  were  founded,  the  provisions 
made  in  behalf  of  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate,  the 
inculcation  of  a  delicate  and  refined  feeling  of  hu- 
manity, the  care  manifested  for  foreigners  and  the 
making  of  them  equal  with  home-born  citizens  be- 
fore the  law,  the  regulations  for  the  repression  of 
national  pride  and  selfishness,  the  recognition  of 
popular  sovereignty,  the  securing  to  every  man  his 
paternal  inheritance  without  defrauding  creditors, 
popular  education,  the  check  of  popular  opinion  put 
upon  the  government  through  the  prophets,  the  rec- 
ognition of  the  principle  of  representation,  and  the 
establishment  of  general  suffrage.  We  see  not  how 
the  conclusion  can  be  avoided  that  the  Hebrews 
had  the  best  government  known  in  ancient  history. 
Their  institutions  were  certainly  calculated  to  secure 
freedom,  stability,  morality,  equality,  justice,  and 
intelligence.  The  immense  superiority  of  the  He- 
brew jurisprudence  will  be  made  evident  by  a  com- 
parison with  other  codes. 


CHAPTER  III. 

INFERIORITY    OF    OTHER    CODES. 

In  comparing  the  Hebrew  code  with  others,  and 
Moses  with  other  legislators,  we  must  consult  brevity 
as  much  as  possible;  and,  as  the  Grecians  and  Ro- 
mans attained  to  a  higher  civilization  than  other 
Gentile  nations,  it  will  be  sufficient,  among  ancient 
codes,  to  bring  into  comparison  with  the  Hebrew 
only  those  of  Greece  and  Rome. 

1.  The  Spartan  code.  One  of  the  most  famous 
legislators  of  Greece  was  Lycurgus.  The  inferiority 
of  his  laws  to  the  Mosaic  code  is  seen  at  once  by 
a  reference  to  some  of  their  provisions.  Lycurgus 
virtually  destroyed  the  currency  by  making  money 
consist  entirely  of  iron;  thus  annihilating  commerce, 
one  of  the  important  means  of  civilization.  By  com- 
pelling the  citizens  to  eat  together  at  public  tables, 
by  encouraging  husbands  and  wives  to  disregard  the 
marriage  relation,  and  by  requiring  children  to  be 
herded  together  and  to  be  brought  up  as  the  pro- 
perty of  the  state,  he  destroyed  the  sanctity  of  home, 
and  impaired  the  family  institution.  His  encour- 
aging husbands  to  loan  their  wives,  and  his  ridicul- 
ing the  prevailing  ideas  concerning  conjugal  fidelity 
as  absurd,  tended  to  destroy  all  modesty  and  chastity 
in  both  men  and  women.     His  providing  that  the 

415 


416  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

ceilings  of  houses  should  be  dressed  only  with  an 
axe,  and  the  doors  with  a  ^aw,  was  designed  to  suj)- 
press  taste  and  elegance,  and  to  keep  society  in  a 
state  of  savage  rudeness.  His  laws  required  or  sanc- 
tioned many  other  things  that  were  very  barbarous 
and  reprehensible, — such  as  the  appearing  of  men 
and  women  together  naked  in  the  athletic  exercises; 
the  forcing  of  unmarried  men  to  march  naked  in 
winter  round  the  market  place,  singing  a  song  com- 
posed against  themselves;  the  keeping  of  children 
in  companies  day  and  night,  and  the  compelling  of 
them  to  go  barefoot,  dirty,  and  almost  naked;  the 
preventing  of  the  citizens  from  engaging  in  manual 
labor,  and  from  exercising  any  trade;  the  allowing 
of  boys  to  steal,  and  the  unmerciful  whipping  of 
them;  the  whipping  of  slaves  every  day,  to  remind 
them  of  their  condition,  and  make  them  abject;  the 
marking  of  them,  and  the  murdering  of  them  by 
thousands  to  keep  them  from  becoming  dangerously 
numerous.  With  regard  to  some  of  these  regula- 
tions, it  is  disputed  whether  they  should  be  ascribed 
to  Lvcuriijus  or  not.  But  it  is  ao^reed  that  he  was 
the  author  of  most  of  them ;  and  that  they  all  were 
embraced  in  the  legal  code  of  the  Spartans.  Under 
such  a  system,  there  could  be  neither  individual  free- 
dom nor  social  progress.  Men  were  converted  by  it, 
as  far  as  possible,  into  machines;  and  society  into  a 
treadmill.  Chastity,  refinement,  domestic  haj)piness, 
conjugal  fidelity,  friendship,  and  many  of  the  social 
affections  were  discouraged  and  well  nigh  destroyed. 
The  laws  of  Lycurgus  were  adapted  only  to  a  small 
society  composed  of  unfeeling  and  savage  warrors; 


INFERIORITY   OF   OTHER   CODES.  417 

and  their  main  design  was  to  cultivate  in  men  those 
qualities  which  they  possess  in  common  with  the 
brutes — physical  courage,  strength,  and  endurance. 
Could  lions  and  tigers  have  been  trained  to  fight  in 
battle,  they  would  have  been,  according  to  the  Spar- 
tan standard,  more  noble  and  valuable  than  most  of 
the  citizens.  The  absence  from  the  laws  of  Moses 
of  all  the  above  mentioned  regulations,  is  of  itself 
sufficient  to  prove  their  immense  superiority  above 
those  of  Lycurgus. 

2.  The  Athenian  code.  The  laws  of  Athens  were 
much  superior  in  several  respects  to  those  of  Sparta. 
They  were  less  savage  and  cruel,  and  allowed  more 
individual  freedom.  They  tended  less  to  harden 
and  brutalize  men.  Yet  the  Athenian  code  was  in 
many  respects  inferior  to  the  Hebrew.  (1)  At  Ath- 
ens foreigners  received  no  such  generous  treatment 
as  among  the  Jews.  According  to  the  Athenian 
laws,  they  were  not  allowed  to  sell  wares  in  the  mar- 
ket, or  to  profess  any  calling.  They  could  not  trans- 
act business  in  their  own  name;  but  were  compelled 
to  choose  guardians  from  among  the  citizens.  If 
they  failed  to  choose  guardians,  or  if  they  failed  to 
render  to  their  guardians  the  services  demanded  by 
them,  action  was  brought  against  them,  and  their 
goods  were  confiscated.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
state  demanded  of  them  peculiar  services.  They 
were  required  to  carry  certain  articles  in  religious 
processions.  On  such  occasions  female  foreigners 
were  required  to  carry  vessels  of  water,  or  umbrellas 
to  protect  lady  citizens  from  the  weather.  Special 
tribute  was  exacted  of  foreigners,  male  and  female, 


418  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

except  women  who  had  sons  that  paid  tribute.  If 
any  failed  to  pay  this  special  tribute,  they  were  im- 
mediately seized  by  the  task  makers  and  taken  to  the 
slave  market  and  sold  as  slaves.  According  to  Diog- 
enes Laertius,  the  philosopher  Xenocrates,  being 
unable  to  pay  the  tribute,  was  sold  as  a  slave, 
but  was  afterwards  redeemed.  Compare  this  treat- 
ment of  foreigners  with  that  provided  for  in  the  laws 
of  the  Hebrews.  The  Hebrew  laws  placed  foreign- 
ers and  native  citizens  on  an  equality.  The  former 
were  not  required,  but  were  allowed,  to  take  part  in 
religious  services.  Even  the  fugitive  slave  became 
free  on  Hebrew  soil,  and  was  allowed  to  live  where- 
ever  he  chose.  Instead  of  exacting  special  services 
and  tribute  from  foreigners,  the  citizens  were  re- 
quired to  show  them  special  kindness  and  favor. 
How  remarkable  the  contrast  between  these  provis- 
ions and  the  Athenian  laws,  which  required  that  the 
foreigner  who  was  unable  to  pay  the  special  tribute 
should  be  hurried  off  to  the  slave  market  and  sold  as 
a  beast!  (2)  The  Hebrew  laws  were  milder  than  the 
Athenian  in  the  treatment  of  criminals.  The  laws 
of  Draco  were  remarkable  for  their  severity.  They 
made  nearly  all  offenses — even  the  stealing  of  a  few 
apples  or  pot-herbs — punishable  with  death.  It  is 
a  well-known  saying  of  Demades,  quoted  by  Plu- 
arch,  that  Draco  wrote  his  laws  not  with  ink  but 
with  blood.  The  same  historian  re[)orts  Draco  as 
justifying  the  severity  of  his  laws  on  the  ground  that 
small  oll'enses  deserve  death,  and  that  no  hi^rluT 
punishment  can  be  inflicted  on  the  most  heinous. 
Solon  is  said  to  have  abroo^ated  the  most  of  Draco's 


INFERIORITY   OF    OTHER   CODES.  419 

laws.  Yet  many  of  those  enacted  by  Solon  or  by 
subsequent  legislators,  were  unduly  severe.  Many 
of  the  smaller  offenses  were  punished  as  capital 
crimes.  The  punishment  for  pilfering  out  of  the 
Lyceum,  Academia,  Cynosarges,  or  any  of  the  gym- 
nasia a  thing  of  the  least  value,  such  as  a  garment  or 
even  an  oil-vial,  was  death.  The  jjunishment  for 
stealing  any  thing  above  the  value  of  ten  drachms 
out  of  the  baths  or  ports,  was  death.  The  punish- 
ment for  proposing  that  the  thousand  drachms  to  be 
laid  out  yearly  for  defending  Attica  should  be  em- 
ployed for  any  other  purpose,  was  death.  The  pun- 
ishment for  proposing  that  the  pay  of  the  soldiers 
should  be  taken  out  of  the  money  designated  for  the 
exhibition  of  shows,  was  death.  The  punishment 
for  impiety,  atheism,  or  denying  the  gods  of  the 
country,  was  death.  The  punishment  for  divulging 
the  mysteries  was  death.  The  i)unishment  for  cit- 
ing a  fictitious  law  in  any  court  of  justice,  was  death. 
The  punishment  for  giving  in  the  election  of  magis- 
trates two  votes  for  the  same  candidate,  was  death. 
The  punishment  for  usurpation  of  the  government 
was  death.  Any  one  who  accepted  a  public  trust 
while  indebted  to  the  public  exchequer,  was  pun- 
ishable with  death.  The  punishment  for  going  on 
an  embassy  without  a  commission  from  the  senate 
or  people,  was  death.  It  was  decreed  that  if  any 
one  should  continue  in  the  magistracy  after  the  dis- 
solution of  the  democratic  form  of  government,  he 
should  be  outlawed,  and  that  it  should  be  lawful  for 
any  one  to  kill  him  and  to  seize  his  goods.  The 
Athenians  were  required  to  take  an  oath  that,  if  any 


420  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

man  shonlcl  endeavor  to  subvert  their  republic,  or 
after  its  subversion  should  hold  any  office,  they  would 
kill  liim;  and  that  half  his  goods  should  be  bestowed 
on  the  slayer.  The  citizen  who  abandoned  Athens 
to  live  in  the  Piraeus  incurred  the  penalty  of  death. 
The  man  who  claimed  wliat  he  had  not  deposited, 
incurred  the  penalty  of  death.  The  man  who  was 
found  guilty  of  abusing  his  parents,  incurred  death, 
or  any  other  punishment  which  the  judges  might 
choose  to  inflict.  The  man  who  frequented  forbidden 
places  also  incurred  death,  or  any  punishment  which 
the  judges  might  choose  to  inflict.  Kidnappers,  bur- 
glars, and  cut-purses  were  punishable  with  death. 
All  counterfeiters,  debasers,  and  diminishers  of  the 
current  coin,  were  punishable  with  death.  The  false 
informer  was  punishable  with  death.  The  punish- 
ment for  polluting  the  temple  of  Apollo  was  death. 
The  drunkenness  of  an  archon  was  punishable  with 
death.  Murder  also  was  punished  with  death.  Al- 
together the  number  of  offenses  punishable  with 
death  according  to  the  Athenian  laws  was  more  than 
thirty.  According  to  the  Hebrew  code  only  seven- 
teen offenses  were  capitally  punished.  It  detracts 
nothing  from  the  cruel  severity  of  the  Athenian 
criminal  laws  that  among  the  offenses  punishable 
with  death,  such  atrocious  crimes  as  incest,  adultery, 
forcible  violation,  sodomy,  and  bestiality  (which 
were  capitally  punished  according  to  the  Hebrew 
code,)  were  not  included.  The  latter  prescribed  but 
one  mode  of  execution — stoning.  The  greater  se- 
verity of  the  Athenian  code  is  seen  from  the  various 
modes  of  execution  authorized  by  it;  among  which 


IXFERIOEITY   OF    OTIIEU   CODES.  421 

were  poisoning,  beating  with  cudgels,  starving,  and 
crucifying.  (3)  The  Hebrew  laws  were  more  hu- 
mane toward  servants  than  the  Athenian.  Slaves 
fared  better  at  Athens  than  anywhere  else  in  Greece. 
Masters  had  the  right  of  emancipation,  and  some- 
times ex^cised  it.  Some  slaves  were  enabled  to 
purchase  their  own  freedom.  A  slave  might  bring 
an  action  against  his  master  for  maltreatment,  and 
on  sufficient  evidence  could  compel  his  master  to  sell 
him  to  a  more  lenient  master.  But  as  the  slave 
could  not  testify  in  his  own  case,  nor  introduce  the 
testimony  of  his  fellow  slaves,  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible to  convict  the  master  of  cruelty.  Hence  slaves 
were  almost  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  their  masters. 
The  master  among  his  slaves  was  virtually  law-giver, 
accuser,  witness,  judge,  and  executioner.  He  might, 
as  punishment  for  their  faults  or  to  gratify  his  own 
malignant  passions,  beat,  starve,  pinch,  brand,  tor- 
ture, and  kill  his  slaves,  with  little  danger  of  being 
afterward  convicted  of  cruelty.  Although  slaves 
were  not  allowed  to  plead  nor  to  give  evidence  in 
court,  yet  it  was  customary  to  extort  confessions  from 
them  by  torture.  Slaves  were  so  often  killed  or  dis- 
abled in  this  way,  that  whoever  demanded  a  slave 
for  torture  was  required  to  give  security  to  the  mas- 
ter for  the  slave's  value.  Such  was  the  hopeless 
condition  of  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Athens 
and  Attica — drudging,  despised,  liable  at  any  time 
to  be  beaten  and  tortured  at  the  will  of  their  despotic 
masters,  and  transmitting  this  life  of  toil,  misery, 
and  shame  to  their  remotest  descendants.  How 
different  were  the  laws  of  the  Hebrevv's  in  regard  to 
30 


422  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

servants, — for  in  reality  there  were  no  slaves  among 
them!  It  does  not  appear  that  the  Hebrew  master 
had  legal  authority  to  inflict  corporal  punishment 
on  his  servants  at  all.  The  law  expressly  provided 
that  if  he  killed  any  of  them,  he  should  be  punished; 
and  it  is  evident  that  the  punishment  in  inch  cases 
was  death.  If  the  master  injured  the  eye  or  tooth 
of  his  servant,  he  lost  all  claim  on  his  services,  and 
the  servant  became  free.^  This  provision  alone  de- 
monstrates the  superiority  of  the  Hebrew  code  above 
the  Athenian  in  point  of  humanity.  Indeed  no  such 
provision  is  found  in  any  code  but  the  Hebrew. 
As  we  have  before  remarked,  the  Hebrew  laws  of 
servitude  in  reality  constituted  a  system  of  emanci- 
pation. Every  foreign  slave  escaping  to  Judea  became 
free.  A  Hebrew  could  not  be  held  as  a  servant  more 
than  six  years;  and  every  fiftieth  year  there  was  a 
proclamation  of  universal  emancipation.  This  is  an- 
other provision  that  was  unknown  in  any  other 
code.  (4)  The  Hebrew  laws  w^ere  more  excellent 
than  the  Athenian  in  regard  to  marriage  and  divorce. 
The  former,  indeed,  tolerated  polygamy,  but  cur- 
tailed its  evils,  and  in  the  end  abolished  it.     At  least 

^Ex.  21:  20-21,  26-27.  We  construe  the  law  in  regard  to 
smiting  a  servant  in  the  same  way  with  the  law  in  regard  to 
smiting  a  citizen.  If  the  injured  person  recovered,  the  smiter 
was  'quit,*  that  is,  of  murder;  but  was  punishable  for  assault 
(Ex.  21:  18-10).  So,  if  a  man  beat  his  servant  to  death,  he 
was  punished  as  a  murderer.  If  the  servant  survived  a  short 
time,  the  fact  tliat  his  services  were  of  pecuniary  value  to  the 
master  wiis  considered  as  evidence  that  he  did  not  intend  to 
kill  him.  He  was  'quit'  of  murder;  but  was  punishable  for 
assault. 


INFERIORITY    OF   OTHER   CODES.  423 

under  the  Mosaic  laws  and  teachings  it  ceased  to  ex- 
ist. The  Hebrew  law  authorized  the  marriage  of  a 
childless  widow  to  her  deceased  husband's  brother. 
But  this  custom  existed  and  had  the  force  of  law 
prior  to  the  time  of  Moses.^  He  did  not  abolish  it, 
but  provided  that  the  man  who  was  very  reluctant 
to  marry  his  elder  brother's  widow  might  refuse  to 
do  so  without  incurring  any  other  penalty  than  an 
indignity  offered  him  by  his  sister-in-law,  in  the 
presence  of  the  judges.^  Besides, — the  marriage  of 
a  man  to  the  childless  widow  of  his  elder  brother,  as 
authorized  by  the  Mosiac  law,  was  an  exceptive  case ; 
the  necessity  for  which  grew  out  of  a  long  established 
custom,  and  the  peculiar  constitution  of  Jewish  so- 
ciety and  government.  Marriage  in  all  other  cases 
between  a  man  and  his  sister-in-law  was  declared  to  be 
unclean.^  According  to  the  Mosiac  code,  husbands 
were  permitted  to  put  away  their  wives  by  merely 
giving  a  writing  of  divorcement.  This  separation 
was  not  a  divorcement  in  the  sense  of  annullintr  the 
marriage,  or  dissolving  the  conjugal  relation.  The 
parties,  though  separated,  were  still  husband  and 
wife.  The  husband  might  perhaps  be  tolerated  in 
marrying  again;  for  the  law  tolerated  him  in  mar- 
rying a  second  wife  without  ceasing  to  live  with  the 
first.  But  the  woman  not  beino-  tolerated  in  haviuir 
two  husbands  at  the  same  time,  was  declared  an  ad- 
ulteress if  she  married  during  the  life-time  of  the 
husband  who  sent  her  out  of  his  house.^  The  expla- 
nations of  Jesus,  the  great  expounder  of  Jewish  law, 

^Gen.  38:  7-10,  26.  =^Deut.  25:  5-10. 

'Lev.  18:  16;  20:  21.  *Deut.  24: 1-4. 


424  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

show  that  this  form  of  divorce  was  merely  tolerated 
in  order  to  prevent  worse  evils;  tliat  it  did  not  dis- 
solve the  marriage;  and  that  neither  husband  nor 
wife  was  authorized  to  marry  again, — the  second  mar- 
riage being  in  reality  adulterous.^  But  in  general 
the  Mosaic  laws  in  regard  to  marriage  and  divorce 
are  followed  by  all  enlightened  nations.  When  ob- 
jected to,  it  is  generally  on  account  of  their  strict- 
ness, and  not  on  account  of  their  allowance  of  licen- 
tiousness. Many  of  the  Athenian  laws  in  regard  to 
marriage  and  divorce  were  very  reprehensible.  They 
authorized  the  marriage  of  a  man  to  his  half-sister 
on  the  father's  side.  They  required  an  heiress  to 
marry  her  nearest  marriageable  male  relative,  though 
he  was  her  uncle  or  brother.  They  gave  the  nearest 
kinsman  of  an  orphan  maid,  though  his  niece  or 
sister,  the  option  of  marrying  her  or  endowing  her 
with  a  portion  of  his  estate.  They  allowed  a  mar- 
ried heiress,  who  failed  to  have  children  by  her  hus- 
band, to  cohabit  with  any  of  his  kinsmen  whom  she 
mio:ht  choose.  Adultery  accordiuiz;  to  the  Atlienian 
law  was  a  penal  offense  ;  but  the  keeping  of  mis- 
tresses by  married  men  was  not  accounted  adultery. 
While  the  Hebrew  concubine  was  a  wife,  and  her 
children  enjoyed  equal  rights  with  the  children  of 
the  favorite  wife, — the  concubine  according  to  the 
Athenian  law  was  only  a  paramour,  and  her  child- 
ren were  declared  infamous  and  deprived  of  all  po- 
litical riirhts.  Thouo-h  the  Hebrews  were  taus^ht 
that  it  was  wrong  to  intermarry  with  the  surround- 

^  Matt.  5:  31-32;  19:  3-9. 


INFERIORITY   OF   OTHER   CODES.  425 

ing  nations,  who  worshipped  unclean  gods,  burnt 
their  chiklren  in  sacrifice  to  devils,  and  practised 
other  abominations;  and  though  once,  at  a  very  criti- 
cal period  in  their  history,  when  the  existence  of  the 
nation  was  endangered,  their  leader  required  them 
to  put  away  their  foreign  wives  ;^  yet  there  was  no 
legal  penalty  for  marrying  a  woman  of  a  foreign 
race,  and  the  children  that  sprung  from  such  marri- 
ages enjoyed  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  He- 
brews of  pure  descent.  David,  the  second  king  of  the 
Israelites  and  the  founder  of  the  royal  line,  was  the 
descendant  of  a  foreigner, — his  great-grand-father, 
Boazj  having  married  Kuth  the  Moabitess.  The 
fact  that  Absalom's  mother  w^as  a  foreigner  did  not 
detract  from  his  popularity,  or  incapacitate  him  for 
holding  office.^  The  fourth  Israelitish  king,  Eeho- 
boam,  was  the  son  of  an  Ammonitish  woman.  But 
according  to  the  Athenian  law,  if  a  citizen  married  a 
woman  that  was  an  alien,  he  was  fined  a  thousand 
drachms,  and  his  wife  was  sold  as  a  slave.  If  an 
Athenian  woman  married  an  alien,  her  husband  was 
sold  as  a  slave.  The  children  that  sprung  from  these 
mixed  marriages  were  in  the  eye  of  the  law  infa- 
mous persons,  and  were  incapable  of  inheriting  their 
fathers'  estates,  or  exercising  any  political  rights. 
Marriage  was  regarded  as  a  temporary  arrangement, 
voidable  at  the  will  either  of  the  husband  or  wife. 
The  woman  who  wished  to  leave  her  husband  was 
required  only  to  hand  a  separation-bill  to  the  archon. 
Husband  and  wife  often  separated  by  mutual  consent, 

»Neh.  13:  23-27.        2  2Sam.  3:  3. 
36* 


426  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

and  after  doing  so  were  at  liberty  to  marry  again. 
(5)  The  Hebrew  laws  were  more  impartial  and  equi- 
table than  the  Athenian  iu  the  conferring  of  political 
rights  and  privileges.  According  to  the  former,  no 
man  was  disfranchised  on  account  of  poverty;  but 
the  poor  and  the  rich  enjoyed  the  vsame  rights  and 
privileges.  But  the  Athenian  law  excluded  from 
office  all  those  whose  lands  yielded  less  than  two- 
hundred  measures.  From  Aristotle  we  learn,  that 
the  class  thus  disfranchised  consisted  mainly  of 
mechanics.^  The  number  of  citizens  never  much 
exceeded  twenty-thousand;  the  number  of  slaves 
sometimes  reached  four-hundred  thousand,  and  of 
foreigners  ten  thousand.  Only  the  richer  class  of 
citizens  were  capable  of  holding  office.  Only  those 
both  of  whose  parents  were  citizens  were  accounted 
such.  All  those  whose  fathers  or  mothers  were  not 
citizens  were  declared  illegitimate  and  infamous,  and 
were  deprived  of  all  political  and  of  some  of  their 
personal  rights.  The  laws,  however,  on  these  sub- 
jects varied  from  time  to  time.  In  the  time  of 
Pericles,  by  a  change  of  the  laws,  about  five  thou- 
sand persons  who  had  been  recognized  as  citizens, 
were  deprived  of  their  freedom  and  sold  as  slaves. 
The  severity  of  the  law  was  relaxed  before  the  death 
of  Pericles,  but  was  afterward  revived.  The  pre- 
vailing law  was  such  as  has  been  mentioned.  Athens 
was  a  community  of  slaves  governed  by  despots.  In 
the  Hebrew  commonwealth,  freedom  and  equality 
prevailed.     (6)  In  several  other  respects,  the  superi- 

^Pol.  2:  12. 


INFERIORITY   OF   OTHER   CODES.  427 

ority  of  the  Hebrew  code  is  conspicuous.  AYe  have 
])ointed  out  how  carefully,  and  even  tenderly,  Moses 
provided  for  the  orphan,  the  widow,  the  stranger, 
the  poor,  and  the  unfortunate.  But  in  all  the  Athe- 
nian laws,  we  do  not  find  a  single  provision  for  re- 
lieving the  wants  of  the  poor.  Those  provisions  in 
the  Hebrew  laws  that  were  designed  to  foster  a  deli- 
cate and  refined  sensibility,  as  mentioned  above,  were 
unknown  in  the  Athenian  code.  By  the  prohibition 
of  usury,  the  jubilee,  and  other  regulations,  injuri- 
ous and  dangerous  inequalities  among  the  Hebrew 
citizens  were  prevented.  Whatever  may  be  thought 
of  such  regulations,  they  were  certainly  not  so  objec- 
tionable as  the  Athenian  law  which  required  the 
banishment  of  the  most  considerable  and  wealthiest 
citizens  for  ten  years,  lest  they  should  become  lead- 
ers in  sedition.  Other  particulars  might  be  speci- 
fied, but  we  think  enough  has  been  said  to  show 
the  great  inferiority  of  the  Athenian  to  the  Hebrew 
code.^ 

3.  The  Roman  code  was  even  more  objectionable 
than  that  of  Athens,  and  was  almost  as  much  so  as 
that  of  Sparta.  According  to  the  Roman  laws,  the 
citizen  was  an  unlimited  despot  over  his  servants  and 
family.  He  had  power  to  punish  his  slaves  at'})leas- 
ure.  He  might  beat,  imprison,  stab,  starve,  hang, 
drown,. burn,  or  crucify  them,  whenever  led  to  do  so 
by  passion  or  caprice.  After  killing  his  slaves,  he 
might  cut  their  bodies  in  pieces  and  throw  them  into 
his  stye  to  feed  his  pigs,  or  into  his  ponds  to  feed 

^  For  our  account  of  the*  Athenian  laws  we  are  mainly  in- 
debted to  Potter's  Antiquities  of  Greece. 


428  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

his  fish.  The  father  had  the  same  unlimited  power 
over  the  bodies  and  lives  of  his  children  as  the  mas- 
ter over  his  slaves.  According  to  the  Koman  law, 
the  child  was  not  a  person,  but  a  thing.  In  one  re- 
spect, the  condition  of  the  son  was  more  abject  than 
that  of  the  slave.  The  slave  regained  his  freedom 
by  the  first  act  of  manumission,  but  the  son  was 
delivered  from  the  power  of  the  father  only  after 
the  formality  of  a  third  sale  and  deliverance.  The 
father  might  sell  or  kill  his  children  at  pleasure. 
The  Roman  had  the  same  power  over  his  wife  as 
over  his  children  and  slaves.  In  the  eye  of  the  Ro- 
man law  the  wife  was  the  adopted  daughter  of  her 
husband, — and  hence  might  be  either  sold,  given 
away,  or  killed  by  him,  as  children  by  the  father. 

The  Twelve  Tables  have  been  much  praised  for 
their  excellence.  Cicero  declares  that  other  juris- 
prudence— even  that  of  Draco,  Lycurgus,  and  Solon 
— is  rude  and  almost  ridiculous  in  comparison  with 
it.^  But  some  of  their  provisions  were  grotesque 
and  savage.  They  prescribed  that  a  man  convicted 
of  treason  should  be  veiled,  have  his  hands  tied  be- 
hind his  back,  be  scourged,  and  then  crucified.  The 
parricide  was  condemned  to  be  enclosed  in  a  sack 
along  with  a  cock,  viper,  dog,  and  monkey,  and 
thrown  into  the  sea  or  river.  Tiie  incendiary  was 
whipped,  and  then  burnt.  The  false  witness  was 
executed  by  being  thrown  from  the  Tarpeian  rock. 
Libelers  and  satirists  were  beaten  to  death  with 
clubs.     The  man  who  injured  his   neighbor's  corn 

'  De  Orat.  1 :  44. 


INFERIORITY   OF   OTHER   CODES.  429 

by  night  was  hung.  Magicians,  judges  who  ac- 
cepted bribes,  and  persons  who  attended  nocturnal 
meetings  in  the  city  on  any  pretext, — whether  of 
pleasure,  religion,  or  the  public  good, — were  pun- 
ished with  death.  Such  slight  offenses  as  satires 
and  attendance  at  nocturnal  meetings,  were  punish- 
ed with  as  much  severity  as  bribery  and  murder. 
Those  who  were  guilty  of  adultery,  fornication,  rape, 
seduction,  sodomy,  bestiality,  and  other  flagitious 
crimes,  escaped  with  impunity  or  were  punished 
only  with  light  fines.  In  regard  to  those  who  by 
violence  inflicted  personal  injuries,  the  law  of  retal- 
iation— an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth — 
was  rigorously  applied  to  all  poor  offenders.  But  if 
the  offender  were  able,  he  might  buy  himself  off"  by 
paying  a  fine  of  three  hundred  pounds  of  copper. 
The  insolvent  debtor  was  allowed  thirty  days  of 
grace.  If  at  the  end  of  this  time  his  debt  remained 
unpaid,  he  was  imprisoned  for  thirty  days.  During 
his  imprisonment,  his  daily  allowance  was  a  pound 
of  meal,^  and  he  might  be  bound  with  a  chain  of 
fifteen  pounds*  weight.  He  was  three  times  exposed 
in  the  market  place  in  order  to  move  the  compassion 
of  his  friends.  If,  at  the  expiration  of  the  thirty 
days  of  imprisonment,  the  debt  remained  unpaid, 
the  debtor  was  at  the  option  of  the  creditor  either 
put  to  death,  or  sold  into  slavery  beyond  the  Tiber. 
If  there  were  more  than  one  creditor,  they  might  cut 
the  body  of  the  debtor  and  divide  the  pieces  among 
themselves.     Infants  that  were  born  greatly  deform- 

^  Gibbon  says,  twelve  ounces  of  rice,  ch.  44. 


430  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

ed  were  to  be  immediately  put  to  death.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly to  this  law  that  Cicero  refers  when  he 
speaks  of  'those  deformed  infants,  which  by  a  law 
of  the  Twelve  Tables  are  not  permitted  to  live/^ 
The  citizens  who  did  not  give  in  their  names  to  be 
enrolled  in  the  censor's  books,  or  refused  to  enlist  as 
soldiers,  were  sold  as  slaves.  That  it  may  be  seen 
that  we  do  not  exaG:s:erate  the  barbarities  of  the  Ro- 
man  code,  we  present  some  fragments  of  the  Twelve 
Tables,  as  follows: — 'Let  the  creditor  take  the  debtor 
home  with  him,  tie  him  by  the  neck  or  feet  with  a 
chain  not  above  fifteen  pounds  weight.  Let  him  be 
fed  on  a  pound  of  meal  a  day.  If  the  debtor  be  in- 
solvent to  several  creditors,  let  his  body  be  cut  in 
pieces  on  the  third  market  day.  It  may  be  cut  into 
more  or  fewer  pieces  with  impunity;  or,  if  his  cred- 
itors consent  to  it,  let  him  be  sold  to  foreigners  be- 
yond the  Tiber. — Let  a  father  have  the  power  of  life 
and  death  over  his  legitimate  children,  and  let  him 
sell  them  when  he  pleases.  But  if  a  father  has  sold 
his  son  three  times,  let  the  son  then  be  out  of  his 
father's  power.  If  a  father  has  a  child  born  which 
is  monstrously  deformed,  let  him  kill  it  immediate- 
ly.— If  a  man  catches  his  wife  in  adultery,  or  finds 
her  drunk,  he  may,  with  the  consent  of  her  friends, 
punish  her  with  death.  When  a  man  will  put  away 
his  wife,  the  form  of  doing  it  shall  be  by  taking 
from  her  the  keys  of  the  house  and  giving  her  what 
she  brought.'^ 

Such  were  the  privileges  and  punishments  provid- 

'  De  Leg.  3:8.        '  Taken  from  the  Twelve  Tables  as  given 
in  Cooper's  Institutes  of  JuMinian,  p.  656. 


INFER roniTY    OF   OTHER   CODES.  431 

ed  by  the  earlier  Jaws  of  Rome  for  her  own  citizens. 
As  the  Romans  progressed  in  civilization,  these  laws 
became  obsolete.  Finally,  by  the  Porcian  and  Val- 
erian laws,  tlie  capital  and  even  corporal  punishment 
of  Roman  citizens  was  prohibited,  and  thus  the  sav- 
age severity  of  the  Roman  jurisprudence  resulted  in 
almost  entire  impunity.  Slaves  (who  constituted 
the  great  bulk  of  the  Roman  populace,)  and  for- 
eigners were,  on  proof  or  mere  suspicion  of  guilt, 
scourged,  tortured,  thrown  from  the  Tarpeian  rock, 
nailed  to  the  cross,  or  compelled  to  fight  as  gladia- 
tors. Their  bodies  after  execution  were  neither 
burnt  nor  buried;  but,  after  public  exposure,  were 
dracrored  throuo;h  the  streets  with  hooks,  and  thrown 
into  the  Tiber.  Gibbon  is  right  in  declaring  that 
the  Roman  laws,  like  those  of  Draco,  were  w^ritten 
in  characters  of  blood.  Compared  with  them,  how 
judicious  and  humane  are  the  institutes  of  Moses! 

4.  The  Hebrew  laws  compare  favorably  even  with 
the  jurisprudence  of  modern  nations.  Every  mod- 
dern  nation  that  is  even  a  few  centuries  old  has  had 
laws  more  pernicious  and  cruel  than  anything  that 
can  be  found  in  the  Hebrew  code.  We  have  not 
space  to  review  the  legislation  of  modern  nations; 
but  whoever  will  read  the  life  of  Howard  the  phi- 
lanthropist, must  be  convinced,  that  the  most  en- 
lightened nations,  less  than  a  century  ago,  permitted 
and  authorized,  through  their  laws,  the  most  out- 
rageous oppression  and  cruelty.  Consider  the  dis- 
coveries made  by  him  in  the  prisons  of  England,  as 
late  as  1773:  men  declared  guiltless  dying  in  dun- 
geons because  unable  to  pay  their  jail-fees — debtors 


432  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

who  owed  but  a  paltry  sum  deprived  of  liberty  aud 
subjected  with  their  families  to  everything  short  of 
starvation,  even  to  slow  starvation  itself — human 
beings,  farmed  out  and  fed  on  such  a  miserable  pit- 
tance as  to  suffer  the  perpetual  gnawings  of  hunger; 
or  flung  into  dens  or  holes  under-ground,  there  to 
gasp  and  groan  amid  stifling  heat  and  poisonous  va- 
pors— men  and  even  women,  with  gastly  forms, 
haggard  faces,  and  broken  hearts,  preyed  upon  by 
disease,  hunger,  despair,  and  loathsome  horrors,  ly- 
ing in  darkness  and  desolation,  far  from  every  friend- 
ly eye  and  every  cheering  word — some  of  these 
victims  of  oppression  and  misery  being  mere  unfor- 
tunate debtors,  some  tried  for  crime  and  acquitted, 
and  only  a  few  declared  guilty,  yet  counted  from 
year  to  year  by  scores  and  hundreds.  Such  were  the 
sights  that  John  Howard  saw  in  the  prison-dens  of 
England  and  elsewhere,  in  his  journeys  through  the 
world.^  What  w^as  the  cause  of  this  shocking  injus- 
tice and  misery?  The  main  cause  in  England  and 
elsewhere  was  bad  legidation.  Through  Howard's 
influence,  this  bad  legislation  w^as  in  part  corrected, 
and  the  injustice  and  cruelty  resulting  therefrom 
abolished.  But  under  the  Hebrew  code,  such  injus- 
tice and  cruelty  were  impossible.  The  Plebrews  had 
no  laws  accordino"  to  which  human  beins^s  could  be 
thus  oppressed  and  abused.  It  is  only  within  a  re- 
cent period  that  the  most  enlightened  nations  have 
come  uj)  to  the  standard  of  justice  and  humanity  pre- 
sented in  the  Mosaic  laws. 

^Bayne's  Christian  Li/c,  pp.  131-32. 


INFERIOKITY   OF   OTHER   CODES.  433 

But  the  political  excellence  of  the  Bible  is  not  to 
be  estimated  merely  from  the  institutes  of  Moses. 
The  principles  of  benevolence,  mercy,  justice,  and  of 
human  brotherhood,  equality,  and  accountability,  in- 
culcated in  the  Psalms,  Prophecies,  Gospels,  and 
Epistles,  constitute  an  important  part  of  the  Politi- 
cal ethics  of  the  Bible.  The  improvement  of  modern 
legislation  consists  mainly  in  the  carrying  out  of  these 
principles.  When  we  take  into  consideration  these 
principles,  together  with  the  whole  teaching  of  the 
Bible  so  far  as  it  influences  government  and  legisla- 
tion, we  see  how  greatly  superior  are  the  political  ethics 
of  the  Bible  to  those  of  the  Grecians,  of  the  Romans, 
and  nations  in  general. 


87 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   ACTUAL   INFLUENCE   OF  THE   BIBLE   ON 
POLITICS. 

The  political  excellence  of  the  Bible  is  farther 
seen,  from  its  actual  influence  on  government  and  leg- 
islation. 

1.  The  Bible  and  Christianity  exerted  a  powerful 
influence  for  good  on  legislation  and  politics  during 
the  first  centuries.  This  is  proved  bv  the  facts  al- 
ready cited  in  reference  to  the  moral  influence  of  the 
Bible  during  the  same  period.^  Infanticide,  the  glad- 
iatorial butcheries,  neglect  of  marriage,  concubinage, 
unlimited  divorce,  prostitution,  and  slavery  were 
political  and  social,  as  well  as  moral  evils;  and  the 
Bible  and  Christianity  opposed  them  all,  and  against 
most  of  them  waged  an  unrelenting  war.  Constan- 
tine,  the  first  Christian  emperor,  began  the  work  of 
conforming  the  laws  of  the  empire  to  the  Christian 
standard.  Owing,  however,  to  the  force  of  custom 
and  the  prevalence  of  pagan  sentiment,  his  enact- 
ments in  many  cases  amounted  perhaps  to  little 
more  than  an  expression  of  Christian  benevolence. 
But  his  successors,  through  the  growing  influence  of 
Christianity,  were  enabled  to  accomplish  the  work 
which  he  inaugurated.     Take  as  an  illustration  the 

*  Part  ill,  ch.  4. 
434 


INFLUENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE   OX    POLITICS.      435 

imperial  legislation  in  regard  to  the  power  of  fathers 
over  their  children,  which  according  to  the  old  Ro- 
man law  extended  to  the  selling  of  them  as  slaves, 
and  the  killing  of  them.  This  law  was  restricted 
before  the  establishment  of  Christianity;  yet  the 
killing  of  a  child  by  its  father  was  left  unpunished. 
Constantine,  in  318,  dec^red  it  to  be  one  of  the 
greatest  of  crimes.  Valentinian  did  the  same  in  374. 
Theodosius,  in  391,  decreed  that  children  that  had 
been  sold  as  slaves  by  their  fathers  should  be  free;  and 
Justinian,  in  529,  gave  freedom  to  all  exposed  child- 
ren.^ Gibbon  attributes  the  cessation  of  child-mur- 
ders to  the  efforts  of  Valentinian  and  his  colleagues.^ 
The  legislation  of  the  Christian  emperors  was  also  op- 
posed, though  not  so  directly,  to  slavery.  Constan- 
tine facilitated  manumission;  allowed  it  on  the  Sab- 
bath ;  and  empowered  the  clergy  to  emancipate  their 
slaves  by  their  own  word,  without  legal  formalities. 
By  some  of  his  successors  emancipation  was  still  fur- 
ther encouraged.  Justinian  abolished  servitude  as  a 
punishment 'for  crime;  removed  all  the  restraints 
that  had  been  imposed  on  manumissions;  elevated 
freedmen  at  once  to  the  rank  and  rights  of  citizens; 
and  in  other  ways  promoted  the  liberation  of  slaves.^ 
Gibbon  declares  that  the  spirit  of  Justinian's  laws 
promoted  the  extinction  of  domestic  servitude.  He 
further  testifies  that  the  custom  of  enslaving  prison- 
ers of  war  was  totally  extinguished  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  by  the  prevailing  influence  of  Christianity.* 
In  regard  to  marriage  and  divorce,  the  laws  fluctuated 

'  Cod.  Theod.  ix.  tit.  14-15 ;  iii.  3,  1.     '  Ch.  44.    "•  Cod.  Jiis. 
vii.  5-6.     *Milman's  Gibbon,  vol.  3.  p.  602, 7io(e. 


436  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

between  the  customs  of  the  pagans  and  the  teachings 
of  the  gospel.  From  the  time  of  Constantine,  con- 
cubinage was  forbidden,  and  adultery  was  punished 
as  a  gross  crime.  The  boundless  liberty  of  divorce 
was  abolished.  Justinian  even  attempted  to  conform 
the  laws  to  the  demands  of  the  church  and  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  gospel;  but^through  the  influence  of 
pagan  custom  and  the  laxity  of  public  sentiment,  he 
was  compelled  to  allow  divorces  for  other  causes 
than  conjugal  infidelity.^  Still,  through  the  influence 
Df  Christianity  the  laws  in  regard  to  marriage  and 
divorce  were  much  improved.  The  skeptical  histo- 
rian states  that  the  origin,  validity,  and  duties  of 
marriage  were  regulated  by  (what  he  calls)  the  tra- 
dition of  the  synagogue,  the  precepts  of  the  gospel, 
and  the  canons  of  general  and  provincial  synods; 
and  that  the  ^Christian  princes  were  the  first  who 
specified  the  just  causes  of  a  private  divorce.'^  So 
also  the  benign  influence  of  Christianity  was  felt  in 
the  abolition  of  crucifixion  as  a  punishment,  the 
branding  of  criminals,  and  the  gladiatorial  games; 
in  making  public  provision  for  the  poor;  and  in 
reforming  the  laws  in  regard  to  many  other  matters. 
Gibbon  testifies  that  'a  new  spirit  of  legislation,  re- 
spectable even  in  its  error,  arose  in  the  empire  with 
the  religion  of  Constantine;'  and  that  the  laws  of 
Moses  were  taken  by  the  Christian  princes  as  a  guide 
in  framing  their  penal  statutes.^  In  thus  reforming 
the  Homan  jurisprudence,  the  Bible  has  exerted  a 
powerful  and  beneficial  influence  on  the  legislation 
and  politics  of  all  Christendom. 

'  Theod.  Cod.  iii.  tit.  16;  ix.  tit.  7.    'Ch.  44.    ^'Ch.  44. 


INFLUENCE  OP  THE   BIBLE  ON  POLITICS.     437 

2.  The  political  influence  of  the  Bible  at  the  time 
of  the  Reformation  was  great  and  beneficial.  The 
truth  of  this  proposition  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact, 
that  wherever  the  Reformation  was  not  trammeled 
by  princes  and  politicians,  but  was  allowed  to  go  its 
own  way,  there  it  produced  order,  justice,  freedom, 
and  prosperity  in  a  good  degree.  The  Reforma- 
tion had  its  own  way  at  Geneva.  Calvin  indeed  be- 
lieved in  persecution,  but  he  learned  it  from  the  age 
in  which  he  lived,  not  from  the  Bible.  It  is  common 
for  a  certain  class  of  writers  to  sneer  at  him  as  nar- 
row-minded and  bigoted.  But  one  whose  judg- 
ment in  such  matters  must  be  considered  decisive,  in 
defending  the  great  reformer  against  the  attacks  of 
sectarians  and  witlings,  speaks  of  him  as  follows: 
'It  is  intolerance  only,  which  would  limit  the  praise 
of  Calvin  to  a  single  sect,  or  refuse  to  reverence  his 
virtues  and  regret  his  failings.  *  *  *  It  is 
too  true,  the  influence  of  an  ancient,  long  established, 
hardly  disputed  error,  the  constant  danger  of  his 
position,  the  intense  desire  to  secure  union  among 
the  antagonists  of  Popery,  the  engrossing  conscious- 
ness that  his  struggle  was  for  the  emancipation  of 
the  Christian  world,  induced  the  great  reformer  to 
defend  the  use  of  the  sword  for  the  extirpation  of 
heresy.  Reprobating  and  lamenting  his  adhesion  to 
the  cruel  doctrine,  which  all  Christendom  had  for 
centuries  implicitly  received,  we  may  as  republicans 
remember  that  Calvin  was  not  only  the  founder  of  a 
sect,  but  foremost  among  the  most  efiicient  of  mod- 
ern republican  legislators.  More  truly  benevolent 
to  the  human  race  than  Solon,  more  self-denying 
37* 


438  POLITICAL    EXCELLENCE. 

than  Lycurgus,  the  genius  of  Calvin  infused  en- 
during elements  into  the  institutions  of  Geneva,  and 
made  it  for  the  modern  world  the  impregnable  for- 
tress of  popular  liberty — the  fertile  seed-plot  of  de- 
mocracy. We  boast  of  our  common  schools;  Calvin 
was  the  father  of  popular  education,  the  inventor  of 
the  system  of  free-schools.  We  are  proud  of  the 
free  States  that  fringe  the  Atlantic.  The  pilgrims 
were  Calvinists;  the  best  influence  in  South  Caro- 
lina came  from  the  Calvinists  of  France.  William 
Penn  was  the  disciple  of  the  Huguenots;  the  ships 
from  Holland  that  first  brought  colonists  to  Man- 
hattan were  filled  with  Calvinists.  He  that  will  not 
honor  the  memory  and  respect  the  influence  of  Calvin, 
knows  but  little  of  the  origin  of  American  liberty.'^ 
Such  is  the  testimony  which  the  historian  Ban- 
croft gives  in  regard  to  the  character  of  Calvin  as  a 
statesman,  and  his  important  services  and  influence 
in  behalf  of  popular  rights,  liberty,  and  education. 
How  did  Calvin  attain  to  these  advanced  political 
views?  He  did  not  learn  them  from  the  ajje  in 
which  he  lived,  nor  from  ancient  philosophers  and 
statesmen.  But  he  was  a  close  student  of  the  Bible. 
He  imbibed  its  democratic  spirit.  He  was  taught 
by  it  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  that 
all  men  are  on  an  equality  before  him.  He  learned 
from  it  the  worth  of  man,  individual  responsibil- 
ity, and  that  civil  government  is  for  the  sake  of  the 
people.  He  was  familiar  with  the  political  institu- 
tions of  the  Jews,  and  wished  to  see  the  main  fea- 

^  Bancroft's  i\[isc.  p.  405. 


INFLUENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE   ON   POLITICS.      439 

tures  of  their  government  reproduced  in  modern 
times — popular  sovereignty,  the  principle  of  repre- 
sentation, the  election  of  officers  by  the  people, 
graded  courts,  and  popular  education.  Calvin  was 
in  advance  of  his  age  as  a  legislator  and  statesman, 
simply  because  he  was  guided  by  the  spirit  and 
principles  of  the  Bible. 

In  the  Netherlands  also,  where  the  Reforraatiou 
was  untrammeled,  we  have  another  illustration  of 
the  beneficial  influence  of  the  Bible  on  politics.  At 
first,  indeed,  the  Provinces  did  not  understand  the 
religious  rights  of  men.  But  they  advanced  from 
one  step  to  another  until  they  claimed  freedom 
of  conscience  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  all. 
When  William  was  appointed  sovereign  of  the  land, 
he  was  directed  to  maintain  ^  the  Reformed  evangeli- 
cal religion,'  without  permitting  injury  or  hindrance 
to  any  man  on  account  of  his  religion.^  According 
to  the  union  of  Utrecht,  every  man  was  allowed  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience.  The  Netherlanders,  thus  recognizing 
the  religious  rights  of  men,  and  animated  by  an  ar- 
dent love  of  liberty,  were  prepared  to  dare  and  suffer 
in  the  cause  of  truth  and  humanity.  For  eighty 
years  they  struggled  in  deadly  conflict  with  the 
most  powerful  empire  on  earth.  The  history  of  that 
dreadful  struo;o;le  and  its  results  are  well  known. 
Human  freedom  and  rights  were  vindicated.  The 
Dutch  Republic,  established  in  a  mere  hand-breadth 
of  territory,  became  a  great  naval  and  commercial 

» Motley,  vol.  3,  p.  59. 


440  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

commonwealth,  which  girdled  the  earth  with  its 
dependencies,  and  for  two  hundred  years  was  an 
illustrious  example  of  human  progress  and  national 
prosperity.  For  the  origin  of  this  republic,  and  for 
its  powerful  influence  in  behalf  of  human  freedom 
and  i)rogress,  the  world  is  indebted  to  the  Bible. 
The  historian  claims  for  it  ^the  same  high,  religious 
origin  as  that  of  our  own  commonwealth.'^  The 
early  reformers  in  the  Provinces  were  generally  Hu- 
guenots in  belief,  and  the  Netherland  Protestants 
were  characterized  by  the  reverence  and  study  of  the 
Bible  common  among  those  of  their  faith.  They 
loved  it  more  than  life.  They  were  sustained  by  its 
doctrines  and  hopes  on  the  scaffold  and  at  the  stake. 
Men  took  each  other  by  the  hand  and  walked  into 
the  flames,  and  women  sang  songs  of  triumph  while 
their  executioners  were  shovelling  the  earth  upon 
their  living  faces.  Preaching,  praying,  the  singing 
of  Psalms,  and  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  were  daily 
employments.  The  Psalms  translated  by  Marot 
were  sung  everywhere.  The  character  of  the  Neth- 
erlanders  who  fought  against  tyranny  and  founded 
the  Dutch  Republic  is  exemplified  in  the  Prince  of 
Orange  their  leader.  The  historian  says  that  his 
life  was  a  noble  Christian  epic,  and  that  he  was 
more  than  anything  else  a  religious  man,  his  piety 
being  the  most  prominent  of  his  moral  qualities. 
lie  bowed  his  noble  mind  submissively  to  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Bible,  and  made  it  the  guide  of  his  life. 
3.  The  Bible  has  also  exerted  a  great  influence 

*  Motley,  vol.  3,  p.  261. 


INFLUEliCE   OF   THE    BIBLE   ON   POLITICS.      441 

ill  favor  of  freedom  and  good  government  in  Great 
Britain.  Hume,  the  enemy  of  Puritanism  and  of 
Christianity,  admits  that  Uhe  precious  spark  of  lib- 
erty was  kindled  and  preserved  by  the  Puritans 
alone;'  and  that  'to  this  sect  the  English  owe  the 
whole  freedom  of  their  constitution.'  The  infidel 
historian  further  asserts  that  the  attachment  of  the 
Puritans  to  liberty  resulted  from  their  religious 
views  and  practices.  In  the  same  way  he  accounts 
for  what  he  calls  the  violent  turn  of  the  Scotch  to- 
ward republicanism,  and  their  zealous  attachment  to 
civil  liberty.  He  remarks  that  the  bold  and  daring 
spirit,  which  was  manifested  in  the  prayers  of  the 
English  Puritans  and  Scotch  Presbyterians,  appeared 
in  their  political  speculations;  and  that  they  used 
the  same  freedom  in  addressing  their  earthly  sov- 
ereign as  in  addressing  their  Maker.^  Hume's  judg- 
ment in  regard  to  these  people  is  not  altogether 
trustworthy.  But  his  statements  show  that  the  most 
ardent  lovers  and  earnest  advocates  of  liberty  in 
Great  Britain,  those  to  whom  the  English  are  in- 
debted for  the  preservation  of  their  rights  and  liber- 
ties, have  been  the  greatest  lovers  and  most  diligent 
students  of  the  Bible.  It  is  a  fact  now  generally 
conceded,  that  England  under  Cromwell  and  the 
Puritans  was  better  governed  and  more  respected 
than  she  had  ever  been  before. 

4.  The  Bible  has  exerted  a  powerful  influence 
for  good  on  society  and  government  in  the  United 
States.     The  people  who  first  settled  in  our  country 

^His.ofEngland.  ch,  41. 


442  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

— those  who  laid  the  foundations  of  American  society 
and  government — were  firm  believers  in  the  Bible. 
In  speaking  of  the  character  of  the  colonists,  Daniel 
Webster  said;  ^They  brought  with  them  a  full  por- 
tion of  all  the  riches  of  the  past  in  science,  in  art,  in 
morals,  religion,  and  literature.  Tiie  Bible  came 
with  them.  And  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  to  the 
free  and  universal  reading  of  the  Bible  is  to  be  as- 
cribed, in  that  age,  that  men  were  indebted  for  right 
views  of  Civil  Liberty.' 

The  first  Congress  manifested  their  appreciation  of 
the  Bible  in  a  very  decided  way,  ordering  the  com- 
mittee on  commerce,  in  1777,  to  import,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  Congress,  twenty  thousand  English  Bibles. 
Again  in  1781,  the  importation  of  Bibles  being  en- 
tirely prevented  by  the  existing  war,  the  subject 
of  printing  the  Bible  w^as  referred  to  a  committee. 
This  committee  recommended  to  Conirress  an  edition 
printed  by  Robert  Aikeft  of  Philadelphia;  where- 
upon, the  following  resolution  was  adopted:  ^Re- 
solved, That  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
highly  approve  the  pious  and  laudable  undertaking 
of  Mr.  Aiken,  as  subservient  to  the  interests  of  re- 
ligion; and  being  satisfied  of  the  care  and  accuracy 
of  the  execution  of  the  work,  recommend  this  edi- 
tion to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States.'  It 
is  true  that  there  were  some  skeptics  among  the 
prominent  men  of  the  country.  But  the  groat  ma- 
jority of  the  prominent  men  and  the  great  mass  of 
tiie  people  were  believers  in  Christianity,  and  lovers 
of  the  Bible.  Even  the  infidel  Paine,  when  endeav- 
oring to  revive  the  flagging  spirits  of  the  revolution- 


INFLUENCE   OF   THE    BIBLE   ON    POLITICS.      443 

ists,  and  urging  them  to  persevere  in  the  struggle 
for  independence  and  liberty,  wrote  like  a  Christian. 
He  appealed  to  the  Bible  to  justify  the  cause  in 
which  they  were  engaged,  and  to  stimulate  their 
hopes  and  courage.  In  so  doing,  he  recognized  the 
powerful  influence  which  the  Bible  had  over  the 
minds  of  the  people,  and  virtually  conceded  that  its 
teachiuirs  are  favorable  to  libertv  and  human  rio^hts. 
5.  The  influence  of  the  Bible  and  Christianity  in 
favor  of  freedom  and  political  progress  has  been 
recognized  by  many  of  the  most  distinguished  his- 
torians and  jurists.  The  declarations  of  Hume  in 
regard  to  the  character  and  opinions  of  the  Puritans, 
and  their  agency  in  preserving  the  liberties  of  the 
English  people,  are  a  virtual  acknowledgment  of  the 
preservation  of  English  independence  and  freedom 
throusrh  the  influence  of  the  Bible.  It  would  seem 
that  Hume  had  a  grudge  against  independence  and 
freedom  because  they  had  been  so  preserved.  The 
following  declaration  of  Bancroft  is  also  an  in- 
direct recoo^nition  of  the  beneficial  influence  of  the 
Bible  on  politics:  'An  Augustine  monk  denouncing 
indulgences,  introduced  a  schism  in  religion,  and 
changed  the  foundations  of  European  politics;  a 
young  French  refugee,  skilled  in  theology  and  civil 
law,  in  the  duties  of  magistrates  and  the  dialectics 
of  religious  controversy,  entering  the  republic  of 
Geneva  and  conforming  its  ecclesiastical  discipline 
to  the  principles  of  republican  simplicity,  established 
a  party  of  which  Englishmen  became  members,  and 
New  England  the  asylum.'^  It  was  by  preaching 
^  Bancroft's  Hist,  of  U.  S.  ch.  8. 


444  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and  persuading  pcoj)le  to 
read  it  for  themselves,  that  Luther  and  Calvin  ex- 
erted so  mighty  an  influence  on  the  political  as  well 
as  religious  affairs  of  the  world. 

The  comparison  which  Macaulay  makes  between 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  countries,  is  an  im- 
portant testimony  to  the  beneficial  influence  of  the 
Bible  on  politics.  In  addition  to  the  quotations 
heretofore  made  from  his  writings,^  we  present  the 
following:  ^It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  since  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  Protestant  nations — fair  al- 
lowance being  made  for  physical  disadvantages — 
have  made  decidedly  greater  progress  than  their 
neighbors.  The  progress  made  by  those  nations  in 
which  Protestantism,  though  not  finally  successful, 
yet  maintained  a  long  struggle  and  left  permanent 
traces,  has  generally  been  considerable.  But  when 
we  come  to  the  Catholic  Land,  to  the  part  of  Europe 
in  which  the  first  spark  of  reformation  was  trodden 
out  as  soon  as  it  appeared,  and  from  which  proceed- 
ed the  impulse  which  drove  Protestantism  back,  we 
find  at  best  a  very  slow  progress,  and  on  the  whole 
a  retrogression.  Compare  Denmark  and  Portugal. 
When  Luther  began  to  preach,  the  superiority  of 
the  Portugese  was  unquestionable.  At  present,  the 
superiority  of  the  Danes  is  no  less  so.  Compare 
Edinburgh  and  Florence.  Edinburgh  has  owed  less 
to  climate,  to  soil,  and  to  the  fostering  care  of  rulers, 
than  any  ca})ital,  Protestant  or  Catholic.  In  all 
these  respects  Florence  has  been  singularly  happy. 
^  Part  iii.  ch,  4. 


INFLUENCE   OF   THE   BIBLE   ON    POLITICS.     445 

Yet  whoever  knows  what  Florence  and  Edinbur^^h 
were  in  the  generation  preceding  the  Reformation, 
and  what  they  are  now,  will  acknowledge  that  some 
great  cause  has,  during  the  last  three  centuries,  op- 
erated to  raise  one  part  of  the  European  family,  and 
to  depress  the  other.  Compare  the  history  of  Eng- 
land and  that  of  Spain  during  the  last  century.  In 
arms,  arts,  sciences,  letters,  commerce,  agriculture, 
the  contrast  is  most  striking.  The  distinction  is  not 
confined  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  colonies 
planted  by  England  in  America  have  immeasurably 
outgrown  in  power  those  planted  by  Spain.  Yet 
we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that,  at  the  beojinnins: 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Castilian  was  in  any 
respect  inferior  to  the  Englishman.  Our  firm  belief 
is,  that  the  North  owes  its  great  civilization  and 
prosperity  chiefly  to  the  moral  effect  of  the  Protes- 
tant Reformation ;  and  that  the  decay  of  the  South- 
ern countries  of  Europe  is  to  be  mainly  ascribed  to 
the  great  Catholic  revival.^'  Those  who  with  Ma- 
caulay  believe  that  ^reason  and  Scripture  were  on 
the  side  of  Protestantism,'  must  regard  the  facts 
presented  by  him  as  demonstrating  the  immense 
influence  of  the  Bible  in  the  promotion  of  political 
prosperity,  as  well  as  of  intelligence  and  morality. 

Chancellor  Kent  makes  the  followinor  declaration: 
^The  influence  of  Christianity  was  very  efficient 
towards  the  introduction  of  a  better  and  more  en- 
lightened sense  of  right  and  justice  among  the 
governments  of  Europe.  It  taught  the  duty  of  be- 
^  Essay  on  Ranke's  His.  of  the  Popes. 
38 


446  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

nevolence  to  strangers,  of  humanity  to  the  vanquish- 
ed, of  the  obligation  of  good  faith,  and  the  sin  of  mur- 
der, revenge,  and  rapacity.  The  history  of  Europe 
during  the  early  periods  of  modern  history  abounds 
with  interesting  and  strong  cases,  to  show  the  au- 
thority of  the  church  over  turbulent  princes  and 
fierce  warriors,  and  the  effect  of  that  authority  in 
meliorating  manners,  checking  violence,  and  intro- 
ducing a  system  of  morals  which  inculcated  peace, 
moderation,  and  justice.'  *  *  Francis  Bacon 
thought  in  this  manner, — ^The  Christian  religion 
is  the  chief  band  of  society — there  was  never  any 
philosophy,  religion,  or  other  discipline,  which  did 
so  plainly  and  highly  exalt  the  good  which  is  com- 
municative, and  depress  the  good  which  is  private 
and  particular,  as  the  Holy  Faith.'  Judge  Story 
says;  'One  of  the  beautiful  traits  of  our  municipal 
jurisprudence  is,  that  Christianity  is  a  part  of  the 
common  law;  from  which  it  seeks  its  sanction  of 
its  rights,  and  by  which  it  endeavors  to  regulate  its 
doctrine.  And,  notwithstanding  the  specious  ob- 
jection of  one  of  our  distinguished  statesmen,  the 
boast  is  as  true  as  it  is  beautiful.  There  has  never 
been  a  period  in  which  the  common  law  did  not 
recognize  Christianity  as  lying  at  its  foundation. 
For  many  ages  it  was  almost  exclusively  adminis- 
tered by  those  who  held  its  ecclesiastical  dignities. 
It  now  repudiates  every  act  done  in  violation  of 
duties  of  perfect  obligation.  It  pronounces  illegal 
every  contract  offensive  to  its  morals.' 

The  influence  of  Christianity  on  legislation  and 
politics,  as  well  as  on  individual  character  and  the 


INFLUENCE   OF   THE    BIBLE   ON    POLITICS.      447 

affairs  of  priv^ate  life,  is  described  by  Sir  W.  Jones 
as  follows:  'We  speak  of  our  civilization,  our  arts, 
our  freedom,  our  laws,  and  forget  entirely  how  large 
a  share  is  due  to  Christianity.  Blot  Christianity 
out  of  the  pages  of  man's  history,  and  what  would 
his  laws  have  been?  what  his  civilization?  Chris- 
tianity is  mixed  up  with  our  very  being  and  our 
daily  life;  there  is  not  a  familiar  object  around  us 
which  does  not  wear  a  different  aspect  because  the 
life  of  Christian  love  is  in  it — not  a  law  which  does 
not  owe  its  gentleness  to  Christianity — not  a  custom 
which  cannot  be  traced,  in  all  its  holy,  healthful 
parts,  to  the  gospel.' 

The  testimony  of  many  other  distinguished  his- 
torians, jurists,  and  statesmen  to  the  powerful  influ- 
ence of  the  Bible  and  Christianity  in  reforming  and 
purifying  politics  and  jurisprudence  might  be  given. 
But  we  have  presented  enough  to  show  that  no  book 
has  exerted  in  this  respect  so  powerful  and  beneficial 
an  influence  as  the  Bible. 


CHAPTER  V. 

RECAPITULATION. 

The  political  excellence,  then,  of  the  Bible  may 
be  briefly  summed  up  as  follows : 

1.  Its  freedom  from  political  errors.  It  does  not 
favor  despotism,  it  discourages  slavery,  opposes  mon- 
opolies, and  forbids  the  infliction  of  cruel  punish- 
ments. Such  not  only  were  the  spirit  and  teachings 
of  the  Bible  in  general;  but  such  also  was  the  char- 
acter of  the  Mosaic  institutes,  accommodated  as  to 
some  extent  they  were,  to  the  prejudices  and  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  Jews.  For  the  times  in  which 
they  originated,  and  in  the  particulars  above  men- 
tioned, these  institutes  manifest  a  wisdom,  equity, 
moderation,  mildness,  and  catholic  spirit  that  are 
truly  remarkable. 

2.  The  positive  characteristics  of  the  Hebrew  code, 
and  the  political  ethics  of  the  Bible.  The  moral  and 
theological  truths  which  underlie  the  Mosaic  politi- 
cal laws  and  are  blended  with  them,  and  the  princi- 
ples they  inculcate  concerning  the  design  and  duties 
of  civil  government,  and  concerning  qualifications  for 
civil  office,  are  most  excellent.  The  excellence  of 
these  laws  is  farther  seen,  in  the  care  they  manifest 
for  the  poor  and  unfortunate;  in  the  inculcation  of  a 
delicate  and  refined  humanity;  in  providing  for  the 

448 


RECAPITULATION.  449 

protection  and  welfare  of  foreigners,  and  in  repress- 
ing national  vanity.  Still  further,  many  of  the 
provisions  of  the  Mosaic  code  anticipate  the  more 
advanced  political  ideas  of  modern  times — popular 
sovereignty,  homestead-exemption,  popular  educa- 
tion, the  check  of  public  opinion  on  the  government, 
the  principle  of  representation,  and  general  suffrage 
in  the  election  of  officers. 

3.  Superiority  to  other  codes.  The  most  celebrated 
codes  of  ancient  times, — Spartan,  Athenian,  and  Ro- 
man,— were  vastly  inferior;  being  characterized  by 
exclusiveness,  selfishness,  oppression,  cruelty,  and 
by  the  encouragement  of  many  of  the  greatest  im- 
moralities and  barbarities.  The  superiority  of  the 
Hebrew  code  is  especially  conspicuous  in  its  treat- 
ment of  foreigners,  the  punishment  of  criminals, 
protection  and  emancipation  of  servants,  its  provis- 
ions concerning  marriage  and  divorce,  its  care  for 
widows  and  orphans,  for  strangers  and  the  unfortu- 
nate, and  in  making  all  the  people,  both  natives 
and  foreigners,  equal  before  the  law.  Even  much 
of  the  legislation  of  modern  times  is  vastly  inferior 
to  the  Hebrew  laws;  as  seen  in  the  number  of  crimes 
made  punishable  with  death,  the  imprisonment  of 
debtors,  and  the  treatment  of  accused  persons.  But 
in  addition  to  this,  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  in 
regard  to  justice,  mercy,  and  universal  benevolence, 
and  human  brotherhood,  equality,  and  accountabil- 
ity, place  the  political  ethics  of  the  Bible  immeas- 
urably above  every  other  system. 

4.  The  actual  influence  of  the  Bible  on  politics.  It 
reformed   the   Roman  laws.     It  made   Calvin   the 

38'^ 


450  POLITICAL   EXCELLENCE. 

wisest  statesman  of  his  time,  and  Geneva  the  pattern 
and  fortress  of  popular  liberty.  It  originated  the 
Dutch  Republic,  and  constituted  it  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  examples  of  political  progress  and  na- 
tional prosperity  in  modern  times.  It  animated  the 
Puritans  with  the  love  of  liberty,  and  made  them 
the  champions  and  preservers  of  the  independence 
and  ri<rhts  of  Eno^lishmen.  It  laid  the  foundations 
of  American  society  and  of  American  freedom  and 
progress.  Its  services  in  behalf  of  human  rights 
and  freedom,  and  in  reforming  and  purifying  juris- 
prudence and  politics,  have  been  recognized  by  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  historians,  jurists,  and 
statesmen. 

Thus  it  is  shown  that  the  Bible  contains  not  only 
the  best  literature,  theology,  and  morality,  but  also 
the  best  political  ethics  the  world  has  ever  seen; 
and  that  it  has  done  more  than  any  book  or  collec- 
tion of  books,  not  only  to  elevate  and  enrich  lit- 
erature, reform  the  theological  ideas  and  religious 
customs  of  mankind,  and  purify  their  morals;  but 
also  to  enlighten  them  in  regard  to  jurisprudence, 
and  the  design  and  duties  of  civil  government. 
Such  a  book,  originating  in  times  of  political  ignor- 
ance, social  barbarism,  national  antipathy,  and  des- 
potic government,  is  indeed  a  wonderful  production. 
The  man  or  men  who,  thousands  of  years  ago, 
established  popular  sovereignty,  re})rcsentative  gov- 
ernment, general  suffrage,  and  the  periodical  eman- 
cipation of  all  bond-men  in  the  land;  asserted  the 
universal  brotherhood  of  men  and  made  all  classes, 
foreigners  as  well  as  home-born  citizens,  equal  be- 


EECAPITULATION.  451 

fore  the  law;  opposed  the  creation  of  privileged 
classes  and  monopolies;  favored  popular  education; 
taught  the  true  design  and  duties  of  civil  govern- 
ment, and  the  worth  and  accountability  of  individ- 
ual men ;  and  enunciated  those  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  public  morality  and  justice  which  have  made 
the  Bible  and  Christianity  the  chief  promoters  of 
political  progress  and  prosperity, — were  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  world  around  them.  The  most  ad- 
vanced nations  are  now  only  just  beginning  to  put 
their  ideas  into  practice.  It  is  for  the  infidel  to  ex- 
plain how  the  writers  of  the  Bible  came  to  be  in 
advance  of  all  the  world  in  political  ethics,  as  well 
as  in  literature,  morality,  and  theology. 


PART  V. 

MODES  OF  ACCOUNTING  FOR  THE 
ORIGIN  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


453 


MODES  OF  ACCOUNTING  FOR  THE 
ORIGIN  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INFIDEL   THEORIES. 

"We  have  demonstrated  the  political,  literary,  mor- 
al, and  theological  excellence  of  the  Bible.  How, 
then,  are  we  to  account  for  its  origin?  Is  it  merely 
a  human — or  rather,  merely  a  Hebrew  book?  Were 
the  Hebrew  writers  superior  to  all  others  in  ancient 
and  modern  times?  Whence  that  genius,  wisdom, 
sagacity,  and  moral  force  which  enabled  them  to 
create  the  best  political  ethics,  the  most  beautiful 
and  sublime  literature,  the  truest  theology,  and  the 
purest  system  of  morals  the  world  has  ever  seen  ? 
Every  effect  must  have  an  adequate  cause.  The 
world  was  not  created  by  mere  men.  Men  have,  in- 
deed, achieved  many  great  undertakings.  But  the 
sun,  with  his  genial  heat  and  glorious  light;  the 
midnight  sky,  lighted  up  with  the  stars;  the  earth, 
with  its  mountains  and  plains,  streams  and  ever- 
tossing  ocean ;  indicate  the  existence  of  a  super-hu- 
man power  by  which  they  were  created.  So  we 
believe  that  the  excellence  of  the  Bible — its  beauty, 
purity,  power,  grandeur,  truthfulness,  and  blessed 

455 


456      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

influence — demonstrate  that  it  could  not  have  been 
originated  by  mere  men,  much  less  by  the  unculti- 
vated Hebrew  authors;  but  that  its  origin,  like  that 
of  the  grand  and  beautiful  things  of  earth  and  heav- 
en, is  supernatural  and  divine. 

Many  theories,  however,  have  been  invented,  to 
account  for  the  merely  human  origin  of  the  Bible. 

1.  One  of  the  first  theories  invented  for  this  pur- 
pose is,  that  it  is  an  imposture — that  its  writers  and 
compilers  were  guilty  of  deliberate  fraud  and  false- 
hood. This  is  the  theory  advocated  by  Celsus  and 
other  ancient  infidels,  and  by  Voltaire  in  modern 
times.  The  tendency  theory  of  F.  C.  Baur  also  in- 
volves the  charge  of  contrivance,  deception,  and  dis- 
honesty. In  opposition  to  this  theory,  we  might, 
as  has  often  been  done,  point  to  the  character  of 
the  Bible  itself — its  simplicity,  purity,  earnestness, 
naturalness,  and  even  its  apparent  discrepancies. 
Could,  or  would,  impostors  and  liars  write  such  a 
book?  If  any  book  in  the  world  gives  evidence 
that  its  author  or  authors  were  honest  and  truthful 
men,  that  book  is  the  Bible.  But  this  theory  only 
sets  in  a  stronger  light  the  evidences  of  its  supernat- 
ural origin.  The  question  is,  how  did  this  wonder- 
ful book  originate?  The  Christian  maintains  that 
God  must  have  dictated  it — that  the  Jewish  authors 
were  incapable  of  inventing  it — that  a  book  of  such 
political,  literary,  moral,  and  theological  excellence 
— the  most  eloquent,  most  sublime,  most  read,  most 
loved,  most  powerful,  and  most  excellent  book  in 
the  world — could  not  have  been  originated  by  the 
unaided  intellect  of  unlearned  and  bigoted   Jews. 


INFIDEL   THEORIES.  457 

The  infidel  maintains  that  the  unaided  Jewish  intel- 
lect did  originate  this  wonderful  production ;  and  the 
theory  under  consideration  asserts  that  its  authors 
were  not  only  unlearned  and  narrow-minded  Jews, 
but  also  (as  if  to  increase  the  wonder  and  mock  cred- 
ulity,) asserts  that  they  were  impostors  and  liars.  If, 
indeed,  the  writers  of  the  Bible  were  impostors  and 
liars,  we  might  reject  its  accounts  of  miracles  and  of 
its  supernatural  character  as  false.  But  the  Bible 
itself  is  a  fact  whose  existence  cannot  be  denied;  and 
the  production  of  such  a  book — so  simple,  earnest, 
eloquent,  powerful,  and  excellent — by  rude,  narrow- 
minded,  selfish,  lying,  and  knavish  men,  is  a  more 
stupendous  miracle  than  itself  records.  Such  men 
more  than  all  others  would  need  supernatural  in- 
spiration to  enable  them  to  write  such  a  book.  The 
theory,  therefore,  which  represents  the  writers  of 
the  Bible  as  willful  deceivers,  only  sets  the  impossi- 
bility of  its  merely  human  origin  in  a  stronger  light. 
This  theory  has,  however,  been  abandoned  by  the 
majority  of  infidels;  and  it  is  now  generally  admit- 
ted by  them  that  the  whole  Bible  bears  indubitable 
marks  of  honesty  and  earnestness,  and  that  its  pen- 
men believed  what  thev  wrote. 

2.  Another  theory  advocated  by  some  infidels  is, 
that  the  gospels  and  other  parts  of  the  Bible  are 
composed  largely  of  fictions.  Those  who  advocate 
this  theory  do  not  maintain  that  the  Biblical  penmen 
were  either  willful  liars  or  crazy  enthusiasts.  It  is 
admitted  that  their  writings  show  that  they  were 
honest  and  truth-loving  men.  Yet  it  is  maintained 
that  large  portions  of  their  narratives  are  fictions — 
39 


458     MODES   OF    ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

that  by  a  kind  of  pious  fraud  they  relate  events 
which  they  knew  never  took  place,  and  assert  as 
fact  what  they  themselves  did  not  believe.  This 
theory  is  substantially  the  one  which  has  just  been 
noticed.  If  the  evangelists  and  other  writers  of  the 
Bible  consciously  dealt  in  fictiorij  they  were  not 
honest  and  truthful  men.  It  is  true  a  certain  kind 
of  fiction  is  consistent  with  honesty  and  veracity. 
Shakspeare's  Plays  and  Milton's  Paradise  Lost  are  in 
a  certain  sense  fictitious.  But  the  fictions  which 
they  contain  are  not  fraudulent.  They  are  not  in- 
tended to  deceive,  and  in  fact  do  not  deceive  any  in- 
telliirent  reader.  But  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the 
Bible  narratives,  if  they  are  fictitious.  For  they  are 
set  forth  as  veritable  history,  and  the  great  majority 
of  Bible  readers  regard  them  as  such.  Evidently 
their  authors  wished  them  to  be  so  regarded,  and  if 
they  did  not  believe  their  own  narratives,  they  were 
guilty  of  intentional  fraud  and  falsehood. 

But  suppose  that  the  Biblical  naratives  are  fictions, 
and  (a  thing  that  seems  altogether  incredible,)  that 
the  writers  of  the  Bible,  though  honest  and  truthful, 
did  pen  what  they  knew  to  be  false, — the  question 
still  remains  to  be  answered,  how  is  the  transcen- 
dent excellence  of  the  Bible  to  be  accounted  for? 
Suppose  that  the  accounts  of  the  creation  and  of  the 
giving  of  the  law,  of  EzekieFs  vision,  and  of  the 
birth,  miracles,  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  are  fic- 
tions— suppose  that  the  Ten  Commandments,  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  the  Golden  Rule  are  fic- 
titious— suppose  that  all  the  j)rophets,  teachers,  evan- 
gelists, apostles,  and  heroes  mentioned  in  the  Bible 


INFIDEL  THEORIES.  459 

had  no  real  existence — suppose  that  the  whole  Bible 
is  a  fiction — the  question  is,  how  was  it  invented?  It 
originated  among  the  Jews,  an  uncultivated,  bigoted, 
narrow-minded  people.  A  Jew,  or  rather  many  Jews 
were  its  authors.  If  they  invented  the  Bible  with  all 
its  literary,  political,  moral,  and  theological  excellen- 
ces, similar  achievements  are  possible  now.  Then 
let  some  infidel,  gifted,  learned,  and  cultivated, — 
free,  of  course,  from  all  'prejudice  and  superstition,^ 
and  ilkiminated  with  all  the  wisdom  of  antiquity  and 
the  revelations  of  modern  science, — invent  something 
that  will  not  be  altogether  unworthy  of  being  com- 
pared with  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Golden  Rule, 
and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount — something  that  ap- 
proaches the  purity,  beauty,  and  elevation  of  moral 
sentiment  and  depth  of  spiritual  meaning  contained 
in  the  Psalms,  Gospels,  and  Epistles — something  that 
will  be  read  and  admired  and  loved  for  its  beauty  and 
eloquence,  and  for  its  moral  excellence  and  grandeur, 
by  one-half  or  one-tenth  the  number  of  people  that 
study  and  love  and  weep  over  the  Psalms,  the  Book  of 
Job,  and  the  Gospels — let  him  collect  from  the  litera- 
ture of  the  world,  ancient  and  modern,  poetry,  history, 
philosophy,  jurisprudence,  and  oratory,  all  that  he 
considers  true  and  beautiful  and  good  and  grand — 
let  him  arrange,  combine,  condense,  expand,  curtail, 
and  add  at  pleasure — let  him  thus  produce  a  collec- 
tion of  writings  which  in  the  judgment  of  mankind 
will  be  anything  like  equal  to  the  Scriptures  in  full- 
ness of  matter,  richness  of  thought,  and  depth  of 
meaning;  in  moral  purity  and  power,  and  in  literary 
beauty  and  sublimity; — and  then  perhaps  it  will  not 


460      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR  ITS   ORIGIN. 

be  utterly  preposterous  to  assert  that  all  the  beauties 
and  excellences  of  that  wonderful  book  were  invented 
by  the  unaided  intellect  of  secluded  and  semi-barbar- 
ous Jews. 

But  the  theory  we  are  considering  leaves  the 
question  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  Bible  and 
Christianity  altogether  untouched.  According  to 
this  theory,  the  infidel  can  set  aside  as  untrue  as 
much  of  the  Bible  history  as  he  pleases,  and  thus 
can  get  rid  of  miracles  and  the  supernatural  charac- 
ter of  Christ;  but  the  question  is,  how  could  the 
Jews  invent  the  advanced  political  ideas,  the  liter- 
ary beauties  and  sublimities,  and  pure  and  faultless 
theology  and  morality  of  the  Bible?  How  could  the 
Jews — bigoted  and  exclusive  beyond  all  nations 
known  to  history;  actuated  by  the  most  inveterate 
prejudices  and  most  inflexible  fanaticism;  and  blindly 
attached  to  their  own  laws,  customs,  and  supersti- 
tions— ascend  to  the  moral  grandeur,  elevation  of 
sentiment,  catholic  spirit,  and  purity  of  thought 
which  characterize  in  some  degree  nearly  all  parts  of 
the  Bible,  but  especially  the  New  Testament?  How 
were  they  enabled  to  embody  the  most  elevated 
moral  sentiments  in  the  most  beautiful  and  sublime 
poetry,  to  express  the  grandest  and  most  compre- 
hensive truths  in  the  simplest  language,  and  give  to 
the  world  a  theology,  a  morality,  a  literature,  and  a 
system  of  political  ethics  so  true,  so  good,  so  catholic 
in  spirit,  that  the  human  race  for  eighteen  hundred 
years  (notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  infidels,)  has 
persisted  in  believing  that  they  came  down  from 
heaven?  Purity  and  elevation  of  sentiment,  chaste- 


INFIDEL  THEORIES.  461 

ness  of  style,  and  catholicity  of  spirit,  characterize 
even  those  parts  of  the  Bible  which  originated  at  a 
time  when  the  Jewish  nation  had  sunk  to  the  depths 
of  superstition  and  immorality.  At  the  time  the 
Gospels  and  Epistles  were  written,  the  Jews  were 
actuated  by  national  pride,  sectarian  bitterness,  and 
cruel  fanaticism.  Hypocrisy,  party-spirit,  formalism, 
and  selfishness  were  almost  universally  prevalent. 
Ceremonial  distinctions,  fanciful  interpretations  and 
wretched  perversions  of  their  more  ancient  writings, 
absurdities,  and  puerilities,  were  the  intellectual  food 
of  the  nation.  It  was  in  such  an  age  that  men, 
who,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  were  among  the 
unlearned  of  the  nation,  wrote  the  Gospels  and 
Epistles — productions  having  nothing  in  common 
with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  destitute  of  everything 
that  could  render  them  acceptable  to  the  nation 
at  large,  and  possessing  almost  every  characteris- 
tic that  would  make  them  an  object  of  dislike  and 
hatred — productions  free  from  all  vulgarity,  absur- 
dity, and  extravagance ;  denouncing  national  pride, 
prejudice,  and  fanaticism;  exposing  the  prevaling 
hypocrisy  and  formalism ;  charging  the  nation  with 
the  blackest  ingratitude  and  wickedness;  and  threat** 
ening  the  most  dreadful  punishments  for  their  sins 
and  crimes — productions  severely  chaste  in  style; 
abounding  in  the  most  noble  sentiments  and  far- 
reaching  thoughts ;  enjoining  the  purest  morality  the 
world  has  ever  seen;  and  teaching  a  tlieology  which 
human  genius  and  learning  and  philosophy  cannot 
improve.  Those  Galilean  Jews; — among  the  most 
unlearned  and  despised  of  an  unlearned  and  despised 
39* 


462      MODES   OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

nation;  amid  the  corruption,  hypocrisy,  and  fanati- 
cism of  the  times;  notwithstanding  their  national 
pride,  and  the  prejudices  of  education  and  the  influ- 
ences of  party-spirit  and  sectarian  fury; — produced 
writings  so  beautiful,  so  grand,  so  truth-like,  and  so 
godlike,  that  the  majority  of  enlightened  people 
in  all  acjes  and  countries  have  believed  that  not 
men  but  God  was  their  author  I  The  advocates  of 
the  theory  under  consideration  cry  out — fictions! 
but  they  fail  to  tell  us  how  such  men  could  invent 
sueh  fictions.  On  this  point  they  are  wisely  silent. 
As  well  might  it  be  asserted  that  a  rude,  unletter- 
ed hod-carrier,  or  some  half-savage,  wrote  Milton's 
Paradise  Lost  or  Macau  lay's  History  of  England,  as 
that  the  fishermen  of  Galilee  invented  the.  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  the  Golden  Rule,  and  Christ's  fare- 
well Address  and  parting  Prayer.  But  it  is  the 
proposition  that  the  life  of  Christ  recorded  by  the 
Evangelists  is  a  fiction,  that  demands  the  largest 
amount  of  credulity.  It  requires  us  to  believe  that 
four  men,  sincere  and  honest  (for  the  theory  we  are 
considering  concedes  the  sincerity  and  honesty  of  the 
New  Testament  writers,)  agree  together  to  create  a 
fiction  and  to  palm  it  off  as  true  history — a  very 
unlikely  thing  for  sincere  and  honest  men  to  do! 
They  write  four  independent  narratives,  all  ficti- 
tious, and  in  their  artless  simplicity  insert  in  them 
several  a})parent  discrepancies  in  order  to  allay  sus- 
picion, and  present  the  appearance  of  truthfulness. 
How  very  prudent  and  sagacious  those  simple-mind- 
ed men  were!  In  order,  however,  as  it  were,  to 
increase   the   difficulties   of  their  undertakino:  and 


INFIDEL   THEORIES.  463 

challenge  detection,  they  continually  refer  to  con- 
temporary persons  and  events,  and  commingle  their 
fictions  with  current  history  so  as  to  seem  a  part  of 
it.  As  if  to  insure  the  rejection  of  their  fictitious 
narratives,  they  ascribe  to  their  hero  such  a  char- 
acter as  was  repulsive  to  their  countrymen  and 
to  men  in  general.  They  attribute  to  him  decla- 
rations which  were  insulting  to  Jewish  pride  and 
prejudice,  and  to  the  spirit  of  the  age.  As  if  to 
make  the  success  of  their  undertaking  utterly  hope- 
less, they  represent  their  hero  as  possessing  a  double 
character, — as  taking  part  in  the  common  afiairs 
of  life,  and  yet  continually  manifesting  supernatural 
power  by  the  utterance  of  mysterious  words  and  the 
performance  of  miraculous  deeds;  as  being  the  meek- 
est and  humblest  of  men,  and  yet  as  claiming  and  as 
entitled  to  unlimited  and  universal  reverence  and 
homage.  Still  farther,  they  undertake  to  portray 
him,  not  by  ascribing  to  him  particular  traits  of 
character,  or  asserting  his  freedom  from  infirmities 
and  faults;  not  by  words  of  praise; — but  by  narra- 
ting his  acts  and  reporting  his  words.  They  endeav- 
or to  present  him  as  a  living  reality  by  declaring 
what  he  said  and  did  and  suffered,  and  then  leave 
their  readers  to  form  their  own  conclusions  in  regard 
to  the  excellence  and  consistency  of  his  character. 
Yet  in  this  stupendous  undertaking  (according  to  the 
theory  which  we  are  now  discussing,)  the  evangelists 
have  succeeded  beyond  all  example;  have  palmed  off 
on  the  world  their  fictions  as  true  history — a  thing 
which  no  writer  or  writers  before  or  since  have  ever 
been  known  to  succeed  in  doing.     Those  artless  and 


464      MODES  OF  ACCOUNTING    FOR  ITS  ORIGIN. 

honest  men  in  cunning  and  contrivance  have  beat 
the  world !  In  spite  of  their  ignorance  and  honesty, 
they  have  so  cunningly  wrought  fiction  and  history 
together,  inter -weaving  facts  and  fancies,  natural 
events  and  miracles,  in  the  most  seemingly-simple, 
yet  in  reality  the  most  cunningly-contrived  narra- 
tives; have  written  different  and  independent  narra- 
tives so  apparently  contradictory  and  yet  really  so 
consistent  and  truth-like,  in  opposition  to  their  own 
inveterate  prejudices  and  those  of  their  age  and  na- 
tion ;  have  conceived  and  described  so  lofty  an  ideal 
of  moral  excellence,  exemplifying  it  in  a  character 
more  amiable,  great,  and  glorious  than  any  poet  or 
historian  has  ever  conceived  or  described — a  charac- 
ter which  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men  at  first, 
but  which  the  world  has  since  learned  to  admire  and 
worship;  have  so  artfully  blended  together  in  one 
imaginary  person  the  earthly  and  the  heavenly,  man- 
hood and  Godhead,  and  have  wrought  human  words 
and  actions  and  mysterious,  unearthly  incidents  into 
such  an  exquisite  harmony;  have  attributed  to  their 
imaginary  hero  words  and  actions  so  human  and 
yet  so  God-like;  have  put  into  his  mouth  utterances 
at  once  so  simple  and  grand,  truths  far-reaching  and 
all-embracing,  incomprehensible  by  the  Jewish  mind, 
but  worthy  of  the  Son  of  God;  have  represented  this 
great  and  glorious  character  so  uniformly  consis- 
tent with  itself  in  every  posture  and  attitude,  and  in 
all  places,  and  under  all  circumstances;  and  have  por- 
trayed it  in  narratives  so  ada})ted  to  every  language 
and  nation  and  kindred  on  earth; — that  enlightened 
people   in  general,  during  eighteen   centuries,   have 


INFIDEL  THEORIES.  465 

firmly  believed  iu  the  Gospels  as  veritable  history, 
and  thousands  of  men  and  women  have  gone  to  the 
scaffold  and  the  stake  rather  than  deny  the  person 
whose  words  and  actions  they  record ! 

If  the  Gospels  are  fictions,  there  are  several  things 
which  are  altogether  unaccountable.  (1)  The  unpar- 
alleled audacity  of  the  undertaking.  (2)  The  incon- 
sistency of  the  falsehood  and  deception  involved  in 
it  with  the  admitted  honesty  and  sincerity  of  the 
writers.  (3)  Their  accumulation  of  difficulties  and 
their  needless  exposure  of  their  work  to  various 
tests,  as  if  to  court  detection  and  insure  defeat.  (4) 
The  unparalleled  success  of  the  imposture — fictitious 
narratives  becoming  more  real,  and  being  more  read, 
admired,  and  loved  than  any  true  history,  or  than 
any  other  writings  whatever — a  fictitious  character, 
the  book-portrait  of  an  imaginary  person  becoming 
an  ever  present  reality  through  century  after  century 
to  millions  and  millions  of  hearts,  and  exerting  a 
more  enduring  and  powerful  influence  than  any  real 
hero,  reformer,  or  man  of  genius!  (5)  The  dignity 
and  simplicity  of  the  style  of  these  writers — their 
freedom  from  vulgarity,  exaggeration,  and  absurdity 
— the  unique,  lovely,  and  sublime  character  of  their 
feigned  hero — his  uniform  consistency,  his  god-like 
actions,  his  profound  utterances,  his  noble  sentiments 
— his  scattering  out  conceptions,  truths,  and  precepts 
so  sublime,  and  yet  clothed  in  language  so  simple 
and  graceful — conceptions,  truths,  and  precepts  in- 
comprehensible by  the  Jewish  mind,  but  suitable  to 
the  supposed  character  of  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God — 
the  whole  being  the  invention  of  ignorant  and  big- 


4:Q6     MODES   OF   ACCOUNTIi^G   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

oted  Jews,  rude  fishermen  and  tax-gatherers!  Well 
did  the  infidel  Rousseau  in  view  of  these  things  ex- 
claim, ^Fictions  are  not  so  made.  *  *  *  *  j(^ 
is  more  inconceivable  that  a  number  of  persons 
should  agree  to  write  such  a  history,  than  that  one 
should  furnish  the  subject  of  it.  The  Jewish  au- 
thors were  incapable  of  the  diction,  and  strangers  to 
the  morality  contained  in  the  gospel.  The  marks 
of  its  truth  are  so  striking  and  inimitable,  that  the 
inventor  would  be  a  more  astonishing  character  than 
the  hero.'^  Renan  declares  that  ^  Jesus,  far  from 
having  been  created  by  his  disciples,  appears  in  all 
things  superior  to  his  disciples/  and  that  *The 
evangelists  themselves,  who  have  given  to  us  the 
portrait  of  Jesus,  are  so  far  below  him,  that  they 
constantly  disfigure  him  because  they  cannot  attain 
his  hight.'^  Tlie  audacity  of  this  author  in  claim- 
ing to  know  more  of  Jesus  than  the  evangelists, 
though  knowing  nothing  of  him  but  what  they  re- 
late, needs  no  comment.  Yet  he  recognizes  and 
clearly  presents  the  inability  of  the  evangelists  to 
invent  the  character  of  Christ  and  the  gospel  his- 
tory. Theodore  Parker  has  said,  ^It  takes  a  New- 
ton to  forge  a  Newton.  What  man  could  have 
fabricated  a  Jesus?  None  but  a  Jesus.'  Other 
testimonies  drawn  from  infidel  sources  might  be 
presented,  in  regard  to  the  impossibilities  and  ab- 
surdities involved  in  the  theory  of  fiction  as  applied 
to  the  origin  of  the  gospels  and  of  Christianity. 
This  theory  is  satisfactory  to  but  very  few  of  the 
opponents  of  divine  inspiration. 

*  Emile,  livre  iv.     '  Vie  de  Jesus,  eh.  28. 


INFIDEL   THEORIES.  467 

3.  The  mythical  theory.  This  theory  is  not  very 
different  from  the  one  that  has  just  been  considered. 
The  points  of  difference  are  two.  Tiie  theory  of  fic- 
tion supposes  conscious  invention  on  the  part  of  the 
originators  of  the  gospel  liistory,  while  the  mythical 
theory  supposes  WTiconscious  invention.  The  former 
attributes  the  invention  to  the  sacred  historians 
themselves,  while  the  latter  represents  the  early  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus — the  men,  women,  and  children  that 
constituted  the  first  Christian  community — as  fur- 
nishing the  stories  or  tales  which  the  evangelists 
compiled  into  something  like  methodical  narratives. 
According  to  this  latter  theory,  the  so-called  facts  of 
the  Gospel  history  originated  in  the  imagination  of 
the  primitive  Christians.  Thus  the  declaration  of 
Isaiah  that  *a  virgin  should  bring  forth  a  son'  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  foundation  of  the  myth 
concerning  the  miraculous  birth  of  Christ;  and  the 
Old  Testament  account  of  the  healing  of  Naaman 
the  Syrian  to  have  suggested  the  healing  of  ten 
lepers  by  Christ.  The  restoring  of  the  widow's  son 
to  life,  and  the  ascent  of  Elijah  to  heaven,  are  sup- 
posed to  have  originated  the  story  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection and  ascension.  Thus  the  gospel  narratives 
are  supposed  to  be  made  up  largely  of  mythsj  ideas, 
and  imaginations,  clothed  in  stories  unconsciously 
manufactured  and  believed  in  by  the  inventors  as 
realities.  The  supposition  is  that  the  authors,  like 
children  whose  feelings  are  controlled  by  their  own 
imaginations,  believed,  or  came  to  believe,  the  stories 
which  they  themselves  fabricated.  The  design  of 
this  theory  is,  of  course,  to  get  rid  of  the  miracle^ 


468      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS   OKIGIN. 

recorded  in  the  New  Testament;  but  to  do  it  with- 
out impeaching  its  authors  of  falsehood  and  decep- 
tion. The  accounts  of  miracles  are  declared  to  be 
myths — idle  tales  indeed — but  the  authors  of  them 
are  supposed  to  have  invented  them  unconsciously, 
and  the  evangelists  are  supposed  to  have  recorded 
them  in  good  faith  as  historical  verities.  This  the- 
ory, however,  is  obnoxious  to  nearly  all  the  objec- 
tions that  bear  with  such  irresistible  force  against 
the  theories  of  imposture  and  of  fiction,  and  to  some 
that  are  peculiar  to  itself.  (1)  One  of  the  objections 
of  the  latter  class  is,  that  there  was  not  sufficient 
time  for  the  formation  of  what  the  advocates  of  this 
theory  call  the  myths  of  the  Gospel.  Mythologies 
are  in  one  sense  inventions,  but  in  another  they 
are  not ;  they  are  not  properly  invented;  they  grow. 
But  the  Gospel  mythology  sprang  up  at  once.  It 
was  formed  (or  invented,  according  to  the  theory 
under  consideration,)  between  the  time  of  Christ's 
death  and  the  end  of  the  first  half  of  the  first  cen- 
tury. For  Christians  were  burnt  at  Rome  and  else- 
where for  believing  it,  about  A.  D.  60.^  If  we  al- 
low twenty  years  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity 
after  its  origin,  there  will  be  left  but  a  few  years  for 
the  formation  of  what  some  infidels  call  the  myths 
of  the  New  Testament.  Can  any  intelligent  man 
believe  that  any  mythology  ever  sprang  up  in  ten, 
twenty,  or  thirty  years?  Can  even  the  credulity  of 
skeptics  entertain  the  notion  that  the  Christian  sys- 
tem,— including   the   doctrines   of  the    incarnation, 

1  Tacitus. 


INFIDEL.  THEORIES.  469 

atonement,  resurrection,  ascension,  the  effusion  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  various  accounts  of  miracles 
recorded  in  the  Gospels,  constituting  a  stupendous 
mythology,  if  a  mythology  at  all, — grew  up  in  a 
natural  way  between  the  time  of  Christ's  death  and 
that  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  or  of  the  prop- 
agation of  Christianity  at  Rome  and  elsewhere?  (2) 
But  in  the  second  place,  the  inventors  of  mythology 
work  out  results  in  accordance  with  their  own  pre- 
possessions and  prejudices.  The  Greek  mythology 
is  elegant  and  seductive,  revealing  the  peculiarities 
aud  proclivities  of  the  Grecian  mind.  The  Hindu 
mythology  is  gigantic,  confused,  and  contradictory, 
partaking  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Hindu  mind 
and  thought.  But  the  Gospels  bear  no  traces  of 
Jewish  prejudices  and  errors.  The  very  miracles, 
the  accounts  of  which  the  advocates  of  the  mythical 
theory  endeavor  to  discredit,  were  designed  to  over- 
throw Jewish  prejudice  and  to  humble  Jewish  pride. 
How  did  the  Jews  (for  the  first  Christians  were 
Jews,)  come  to  form  myths  and  narratives  which 
were  directly  contrary  to  their  most  cherished  opin- 
ions and  their  national  pride,  and  which  accused 
them  of  the  most  detestable  ingratitude  and  the 
blackest  crimes?  Plow  did  the  men,  women,  and 
children,  that  constituted  the  first  Christian  commu- 
nity, and  that  are  represented  as  the  makers  of  the 
gospel  myths,  come  to  get  rid  of  all  their  preposses- 
sions and  prejudices?  The  truth  is  that  the  mythi- 
cal theory  inverts  the  order  of  things — in  familiar 
phrase,  puts  the  cart  before  the  horse.  It  supposes 
that  there  were  Christians  before  Christianity — be- 
40 


470     MODES   OF  ACCOUNTING  FOR  ITS   ORIGIN. 

lievers  in  Christ  before  Christ  was  made  known.  It 
virtually  asserts  that  there  were  believers  in  Christ 
before  there  was  a  Christ  to  believe.  (3)  History 
shows  that  mythology  springs  up  and  spreads  only 
in  ages  of  barbarous  ignorance.  It  may  be  said, 
indeed,  that  the  Jews  were  barbarous  enough  in  the 
first  century  to  form  mytlis;  but  how  is  the  dissemin- 
ation of  their  myths  to  be  accounted  for?  Christian- 
ity spread  rapidly  among  all  the  civilized  nations, 
in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe.  Why  did  the  most 
intelligent  portion  of  mankind  receive  the  Gospel  as 
true  history,  and  its  doctrines  and  miracles  set  forth 
in  them  as  real  facts?  Myths  diffuse  themselves,  as 
well  as  originate,  only  among  barbarians, — which 
the  Greeks,  Romans,  and  many  other  nations  were 
not  in  the  first  century.  (4)  But  the  objection 
which  mainly  concerns  us  at  present  is,  that  this 
theory  does  not  account  and  does  not  pretend  to  ac- 
count for  the  unparalleled  excellence  of  the  New 
Testament  writings.  We  ask,  how  could  mere  men, 
unlearned  and  prejudiced  Jews,  invent  the  great 
truths  presented  in  the  Gospels  and  Epistles?  and 
we  are  told  in  answer  that  they  contain  myths.  If 
we  say  tliat  their  chasteness  of  style,  sublime  elo- 
quence, and  elevation  of  moral  sentiment  indicate 
that  they  must  have  had  a  higher  source  than  the 
unaided  intellect  of  rude  fishermen,  the  reply  is;  ^O 
yes,  the  writers  were  only  compilers;  they  only  col- 
lected and  arranged  myths  and  stories  that  were 
floating  in  the  minds  of  thousands  of  people.'  If 
we  ask  how  the  multitude  could  furnish  the  pure  and 
elevated  thoughts,  the  far-reaching  truths,  and  sub- 


INFIDEL   THEORIES.  471 

lime  utterances  of  the  New  Testament,  we  are  told 
that  'the  accounts  of  miracles  are  certainly  mythical.' 
Thus  the  mythical  theory  fails  to  account  for  the 
unparalleled  excellence  of  the  New  Testament  writ- 
ings. The  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  even  if  it  was 
never  delivered,  is  not  a  myth.  The  Golden  Rule 
is  not  a  myth.  The  description  of  Christ's  character, 
though  the  character  itself  were  ideal,  is  not  a  myth. 
His  farewell  Address  and  parting  Prayer  are  not 
myths.  The  New  Testament  with  its  beauty,  pathos, 
eloquence,  pure  morality  and  theology,  and  all  its 
excellences, — is  not  a  myth,  but  a  reality.  It  origi- 
nated among  the  Jews.  The  question  is,  how  did  it 
originate?  How  were  its  authors  enabled  to  ascend 
so  far  above  their  own  level,  and  to  reach  a  height 
which  has  been  reached  by  no  other  men  before  or 
since?  If  its  reputed  authors  were  mere  compilers, 
and  if  its  real  authors  were  a  great  multitude  of 
people,  poor  unlearned  men  and  women, — how  were 
they  enabled  to  conceive  so  great  and  glorious  a 
character  as  that  of  Jesus ;  and  to  attribute  to  him 
so  noble  and  lofty  sentiments  and  so  godlike  a  life 
and  death?  No  solution  of  this  problem  is  offered 
by  the  mythical  theory. 

But  this  theory  never  was  accepted  by  many  skep- 
tics, and  now  seems  to  be  abandoned  by  nearly  all. 
Theodore  Parker  ridiculed  Strauss's  work  in  which 
it  is  elaborately  advocated.  After  remarking  that  it 
is  wonderful  that  some  of  the  absurdities  of  the 
theory  have  not  struck  the  author  himself,  and  that 
it  is  doubtful  whether  there  was  genius  enough  in 
the   first   two  centuries,  or  the  first   twenty   since 


472      MODES  OF  ACCOUNTING   FOR  ITS  ORIGIN. 

Christ,  to  devise  such  a  character  as  Christ's  with  so 
small  a  historical  capital  as  Strauss  leaves,  he  says, 
that  *  Strauss  takes  the  subject,  as  he  thinks,  of  a 
Christian  myth  out  of  the  air,  and  then  tells  us  how 
the  myth  itself  grew  out  of  that  idea/  He  further 
says,  that  according  to  this  method  half  of  Luther's 
life  might  be  resolved  into  a  series  of  myths;  and 
that  the  history  of  the  United  States  might  be  called 
a  tissue  of  mythical  stories,  borrowed  in  part  from 
the  Old  Testament,  in  part  from  the  Apocalypse,  and 
in  j)art  from  fancy.  He  says  that  the  Leben  Jesu  re- 
minds one  of  the  ridiculous  prediction  mentioned  by 
Jacobi,  Hhat  our  world  will  become  by  and  by  so 
fine  that  it  will  be  as  ridiculous  to  believe  in  a  God 
as  it  now  is  to  believe  in  ghosts;  and  then  again  the 
world  will  become  still  finer,  knowledge  will  under- 
go its  last  metamorphosis,  and  then  men  will  believe 
in  nothing  but  ghosts,  and  will  be  as  God.  They 
shall  know  that  Being  and  Essence  are  and  can  be 
only  ghosts.  At  that  time  reason  will  have  com- 
])leted  her  work,  humanity  will  have  reached  its  goal, 
and  a  crown  will  adorn  the  head  of  each  transfigured 
man.'^  It  is  thus  that  Parker  (who  gained  what- 
ever reputation  he  had,  mainly  by  the  reproduction 
of  the  ideas  of  German  rationalists)  wrote  concern- 
ing the  mythical  theory  as  presented  by  its  ablest 
advocate.  Though  at  least  partly  believing  in  it 
himself,  he  treated  the  Leben  Jesu  as  an  object  of 
ridicule;  thus  indicating  that  his  American  com??ion 
sense  appreciated  the  absurdities   which  the  mythi- 

^  Parker's  Misc.  Writings,  pp.  335-36. 


INFIDEL   THEORIES.  473 

cal  theory  involves,  or  to  which  it  necessarily  leads. 
A  theory  the  full  development  of  which  was  thus  re- 
ceived by  Parker  and  other  men  of  similar  views 
with  shouts  of  laughter,  will  in  a  short  time  be  aban- 
doned altogether.  Even  Strauss  himself  has  already 
virtually  abandoned  it.  In  his  Life  of  Jesus  for  the 
German  People,^  he  represents  the  originators  of  the 
Gospels — not  as  artless,  enthusiastic  devotees,  mis- 
taking fiction  for  fact,  and  representing  their  own 
fancies  in  good  faith  as  real  events, — but  as  the  con- 
scious fabricators  of  false  narratives,  and  as  designing 
theologians  endeavoring  to  accomplish  their  pur- 
poses by  artifice  and  fraud.  He  thus  abandons  the 
mythical  theory  and  goes  back  to  the  theories  of  fic- 
tion and  imposture. 

4.  The  legendary  theory.  Very  similar  to  the 
mythical  theory  is  that  of  Renan.  Though  his  the- 
ory has  been  called  legendary,  it  might  better  be 
called  7'omantiG,  Admitting  the  real  existence  of 
Christ  and  his  immense  superiority,  and  conceding 
that  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  writ- 
ten before  the  close  of  the  first  century  (not  more 
than  sixty  years  after  his  death,)  his  so-called  life  of 
Christ  reads  more  like  a  fairy-tale  than  true  history. 
According  to  this  author,  Jesus  lived  in  a  sort  of 
magic  world.  Galilee  was  a  most  glorious  country, 
beautiful  in  its  scenery,  garnished  with  flowers,  and 
fanned  with  delightful  breezes.  The  women,  especi- 
ally those  of  Nazareth,  were  handsome  and  affable. 
The  beasts  and  birds  were  remarkable  for  their  gen- 

^Das  Leben  Jesufur  das  deuische  volk. 
40* 


474      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTI>?G  FOR  ITS   ORIGIN. 

tleness  and  beauty.  The  turtle-doves  were  lively 
and  graceful.  The  storks  had  a  grave  and  modest 
air.  The  blue-birds  were  so  small  as  not  to  bend  a 
blade  of  grass  with  their  weight.  The  little  brook- 
turtles  had  quick  soft  eyes.  The  very  mules  had 
large  black  eyes  shaded  with  long  lashes.  Jesus 
himself  was  gifted  with  infinite  charms  of  person 
and  speech;  and  by  means  of  these  external  advan- 
tages delighted  and  captivated  the  people.  He  was 
a  favorite  especially  among  his  fair  country-women, 
who  rivaled  one  another  in  their  affectionate  esteem 
and  devotion,  and  in  listening  to  him  and  serving 
him;  and  one  of  whom,  named  Mary  of  Magdala, 
was  cured  of  nervous  diseases  by  his  pure  and  gentle 
beauty.  Thus  surrounded  with  beauty  and  delight, 
Jesus  lived  as  in  an  earthly  paradise;  and  as  he  tra- 
versed Galilee  on  a  fine  black-eyed  mule,  enjoyed  a 
perpetual  holiday.^  Such  is  a  specimen  of  Kenan's 
Life  of  Jesus,  In  it  romance  and  conjecture  are  pre- 
dominating elements.  In  the  end  it  will  be  regarded 
on  all  hands,  yea  is  now  regarded,  as  one  of  the 
many  abortive  attempts  to  account  for  the  Christian 
literature,  morality,  and  religion,  as  the  natural  pro- 
duction of  the  human  mind.  Even  skeptics  speak 
of  it  with  contempt.  Tlie  Westminster  Review  de- 
clares tjiat  it  is  a  wonder  how  Renan  'can  cheat  him- 
self into  the  idea  that  his  picture  is  anything  more 
than  a  dream.'^  His  theory  founded  on  assumption 
and  conjecture,  and  recommended  by  little  else  than 
a  romantic  and  brilliant  style  of  thought  and  dic- 

^Chs.  2,  9,  10.        2  Oct.  18G6,  p.  148. 


INFIDEL   THEORIES.  475 

tion,  needs  no  refutation.  This  unsuccessful  effort 
is  but  another  proof  that  the  origin  of  the  Bible  and 
Christianity  cannot  be  solved  on  infidel  principles. 

5.  Gibbon's  account  of  the  propagation  of  Christian- 
ity. This  celebrated  historian  does  not  pretend  to 
treat  of  the  origin  of  the  Bible  and  Christianity;  but 
he  evidently  wishes  to  insinuate  that  they  were  ori- 
ginated by  mere  men.  Beginning  after  apostolic 
times,  he  treats  professedly  of  the  success  of  Christi- 
anity; which  he  attributes  to  five  secondary  causes. 
But  none  of  these  causes  had  in  reality  anything  to 
do  in  originating  Christianity,  and  some  of  them 
hindered  its  subsequent  success.  The  first  cause  he 
mentions  is,  Hhe  inflexible  and  intolerant  zeal  of  the 
early  Christians.'  The  intolerance  of  Christianity 
(by  which  is  meant  its  refusal  of  alliance  with  other 
religions,  audits  demand  for  their  complete  aban- 
donment,) could  hardly  have  recommended  it  to  pa- 
gans and  polytheists;  and  certainly  does  not  in  any 
degree  account  for  its  origin.  Christianity  existed 
before  there  were  any  Christians  to  be  intolerant. 
The  second  cause  assigned  for  the  success  of  the 
Gospel  is,  Hhe  doctrine  of  a  future  life.'  But  how 
could  the  denunciation  of  everlasting  fire  as  a  pun- 
ishment, not  only  for  flagrant  crimes,  but  also  for 
pride,  selfishness,  and  godless  pleasures,  and  the  pro-, 
mise  of  nothing  in  the  future  world  but  pure  and 
spiritual  delights  as  a  reward  for  faith  and  holiness 
in  this  life — how  could  such  teachings  as  these  rec- 
ommend Christianity  to  people  who  were  character- 
ized by  the  love  of  worldly  and  sensual  pleasures? 
But  even  if  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  did  promote 


476      MODES   OF  ACCOUNTING   FOR  ITS   ORIGIN. 

the  success  of  Christianity  iu  the  first  centuries,  the 
statement  of  this  fact  gives  us  no  information  con- 
cerning its  origin.  The  third  cause  which  Gibbon 
mentions  is,  *the  miraculous  powers  ascribed  to  the 
primitive  Church/  Real  miracles  would  of  course 
promote  the  growth  of  the  church.  But  pretended 
miracles  were  doubtless  in  the  mind  of  the  historian, 
and  it  is  at  least  questionable  whether  a  pretense  of 
this  or  any  other  kind  could  be  of  any  real  advantage. 
But  we  have  as  yet  no  light  thrown  upon  the  origin 
of  Christian  doctrine.  The  church,  of  course,  exis- 
ted before  miraculous  powers  were  ascribed  to  her, 
and  Christianity  existed  before  the  church.  *  The 
pure  and  austere  morals  of  the  Christians'  are  as- 
signed as  the  fourth  cause  of  the  rapid  progress  of 
Christianity.  It  is,  again,  questionable  whether  this 
cause  accelerated  or  retarded  the  progress  of  Christi- 
anity among  the  immoral  and  pleasure-loving  peoples 
embraced  within  the  Roman  empire  during  the  first 
and  second  centuries.  But  at  all  events  Christianity 
existed  before  it  was  recommended  by  the  moral 
purity  of  its  adherents.  The  fifth  and  last  cause  as- 
signed is,  Hhe  union  and  discipline  of  the  Christian 
republic'  But  this  cause,  like  some  of  the  preced- 
ing, though  it  may  have  contributed  to  the  increased 
success  of  Christianity,  had  nothing  to  do  in  origin- 
ating it.  Thus  the  historian  fails  to  tell  us  any- 
thing as  to  how  Christianity  got  its  start  in  the 
world.  He  does  indeed  say,  willingly  or  unwil- 
lingly, sincerely  or  insincerely,  that  the  victory 
of  Christianity  over  the  established  religions  of  the 
earth  was  owing  *  to  the  convincing  evidence  of  the 


INFIDEL  THEORIES.  477 

doctrine  itself,  and  the  ruling  providence  of  its  great 
Author.'  But,  aside  from  the  admission  implied  in 
calling  God  the  author  of  Christianity,  the  historian 
says  nothing  about  its  origin.  His  five  ^secondary 
causes' are  all  the  accompaniments  or  results  of  a 
religion  already  in  rapid  progress.  He  tells  us  that 
*a  pure  and  humble  religion  gently  insinuated  itself 
into  the  minds  of  men;'  but  says  nothing  as  to 
whence  it  came,  or  how  it  came,  except  that  God  is  its 
Author.  No  intelligent  man  will  refer  to  the  15th 
chapter  of  Gibbon  as  giving  a  satisfactory  account, 
or  an  account  at  all,  of  the  origin  of  the  Bible  and 
Christianity. 


CHAPTER  TI. 

INFIDEL  THEORIES  CONTINUED — FACTS  AND 

CONSIDERATIONS   FURTHER   ILLUSTRATING 

THEIR    INSUFFICIENCY. 

The  insufficiency  of  the  infidel  theories  to  ac- 
count for  the  origin  of  Christianity  is  shown  by  their 
statement,  but  may  be  further  illustrated  by  several 
facts  and  considerations. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  infidels  do  not  grapple  with 
the  whole  difficulty.  Their  efforts  are  mainly  di- 
rected to  reconcile  what  they  claim  to  be  false  ac- 
counts of  miracles  in  the  New  Testament  with  the 
apparent  candor  of  the  writers.  They  endeavor  to 
tell  how  the  stories  concerning  Christ's  supernatural 
birth  and  character,  his  working  miracles,  and  his 
resurrection  and  ascension,  originated.  They  con- 
cern themselves  mainly  with  the  Gospels  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles;  and  only  with  these  so  far  as 
they  bring  to  view  the  supernatural  element.  But 
even  if  they  could  explain  the  supposed  falsehood  in 
the  accounts  of  miracles,  and  reconcile  the  claims  of 
Christ  and  the  excellence  of  his  character  and  teach- 
ing with  his  mere  humanity,  they  have  a  stupendous 
difficulty  to  encounter  in  the  unparalleled  excellence 
of  the  Biblical  writings  in  general.  Let  the  reader 
bear  in  mind  what  has  been  demonstrated  in  regard 
478 


INFIDEL   THEORIES   CONTINUED.  479 

to  the  political,  literary,  moral,  and  theological  ex- 
cellence of  the  Bible  considered  as  a  whole,  and  in 
regard  to  its  influence  over  the  minds  and  affairs 
of  men.  How  could  rude,  bigoted,  narrow-minded 
Jews  produce  books  so  free  from  extravagance  and 
absurdity,  so  consistent  with  science,  so  true  to  uni- 
versal nature  and  to  man,  so  full  of  grand  and  beau- 
tiful conceptions,  so  catholic  in  spirit ; — books  that 
embody  all  the  true  morality  and  theology  in  the 
world,  and  not  only  have  become  the  standard  for 
the  world  in  morals  and  religion,  but  are  also  studied 
as  specimens  of  poetic  beauty  and  sublimity,  and  as 
models  of  style; — books  the  most  read,  admired, 
loved,  quoted,  imitated,  and  plagiarized  of  any  in 
the  world ;  and  that  are  so  substantial  in  their  excel- 
lence, that  they  may  without  serious  detriment  be 
translated  into  any  language,  and  are  at  home  in 
every  country  and  in  every  clime; — books  that  have 
enriched  and  ennobled  all  modern  literature,  and 
that  exert  a  controllinoj  influence  over  the  thoug^hts 
and  feelings  of  men ; — how  was  it,  and  whence  was 
it,  that  such  authors  wrote  such  books?  The  theory 
that  they  were  impostors,  or  that  they  consciously 
dealt  in  fiction — the  mythical  or  legendary  theory — 
if  substantiated,  would  enable  us  to  treat  any  of 
their  historical  statements  as  either  true  or  false,  at 
pleasure;  and  thus  to  reject  their  accounts  of  mira- 
cles. But  the  miracle  of  the  book  itself  would  still  be 
left  on  our  hands,  and  would  be  rendered  all  the 
more  remarkable  and  striking  by  the  way  in  which 
its  own  accounts  of  miracles  had  been  set  aside. 
2.    In   proposing  and  advocating  their  theories, 


480      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR  ITS   ORIGIN. 

infidels  pursue  a  very  arbitrary,  inconsistent,  and 
illogical  course.  They  can  reject  the  miracles  re- 
corded in  the  Bible  only  by  impeaching  the  charac- 
ter of  its  writers  as  historians.  Yet,  though  denying 
their  historical  veracity,  they  accept  much  on  their 
testimony  alone.  These  infidel  theorists  declare  one 
passage  in  the  Gospels  inaccurate;  another  untrue; 
another  incredible.  They  charge  the  evangelists 
with  inventing  or  recording  lies,  fictions,  myths, 
legends.  If  this  charge  be  true,  the  evangelists 
are  altogether  untrustworthy  as  historians,  and  we 
should  believe  nothing  on  their  testimony  alone. 
The  witness  who  is  proved  to  have  testified  falsely 
in  one  case,  is  declared  incompetent,  and  is  ordered 
out  of  court.  Yet  skeptical  writers  accept  as  true 
much  of  the  gospel  history.  In  order  to  set  aside 
the  accounts  of  miracles,  they  represent  its  writers 
as  untrustworthy;  yet  they  claim  to  know  much 
about  matters  treated  of  by  no  other  historians. 
Now,  we  have  the  very  same  kind  and  degree  of 
evidence  that  Christ  wrought  miracles,  and  that  he 
himself  rose  from  the  dead  and  ascended  to  heaven, 
as  that  there  was  ever  such  a  person  in  existence. 
If  infidels,  in  endeavoring  to  eliminate  the  supernat- 
ural element  from  the  Gospels,  should  succeed  in 
proving  that  impostures,  fictions,  *  tendency- writ- 
ings,'^ myths,  legends,  are  recorded  in  them  as  ver- 
itable history,  the  character  of  their  authors  as  his- 
torians would  be  completely  destroyed,  and  in  that 
case  we  could  know  nothing  and  should  believe 
*  TcndenZ'Schriften. 


INFIDEL   THEORIES    CONTIXUED.  481 

nothing  concerning  the  work  and  character  of  Christ. 
Inih^ed  in  that  case  it  wouhl  be  donhtful  whether 
such  a  person  ever  existed.  This  fact  is  recognized 
sometimes  hy  skeptical  writers.  One  of  tliis  class 
declares  in  substance,  that  if  the  miracles  of  the 
Gospels  are  to  be  thrust  aside  as  incredible,  it  fol- 
lows irresistibly  that  the  credit  of  the  Gospels  is 
in  every  respect  gone,  and  it  argues  an  unbounded 
credulity^  if  we  accept  particular  details  as  historical 
without  corroborative  evidence  from  other  witnesses 
known  to  be  contemporary.  He  further  says,  that 
as  the  state  of  things  it  not  much  more  satisfactory 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  cannot  be  said  to 
know  any  more  of  the  first  preachers  of  Christianity 
than  of  its  founder.^  But  this ' unbounded  credulity' 
is  exhibited  by  skeptical  writers  in  general.  They 
write  biographies  of  Jesus,  of  whom  according  to 
their  own  showing  they  know  nothing,  and  in  sup- 
port of  their  theories  and  speculations  cite  witnesses 
whose  testimony  they  continually  impeach.  Scarce- 
ly any  two  of  them  agree  as  to  how  much  of  the 
Gospels  is  to  be  accepted  as  historical  and  how  much 
is  to  be  rejected  as  imposture,  fiction,  and  legend. 
Yet  each  one  advocates  his  own  views,  as  if  noth- 
ing but  prejudice,  ignorance,  or  obstinate  stupidity 
could  with-hold  assent.  Thus  inconsistency,  assump- 
tion, dogmatism,  and — to  use  the  phrase  of  the  writer 
quoted  above — 'unbounded  credulity,'  characterize 
the  reasoning;  of  the  infidel  theorists  in  sreneral. 
3.  As  we  have  already  shown,  infidels  not  only 
*  Westrniiistcr  Review,  Oct.  18GG,  i>p.  148-151. 
41 


482      MODES  OF  ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS  ORIGIN. 

differ  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  Gospels,  but 
also  in  regard  to  their  origin.  One  class  maintains, 
or  rather  did  maintain  (for  their  theory  is  almost  en- 
tirely abandoned,)  that  they  originated  in  imposture 
and  fraud,  that  they  contain  palpable  lies,  and  that 
their  authors  were  knaves  and  liars.  But  another 
class  of  infidels  declare  that  this  theory  is  entirely 
too  gross  and  vulgar,  and  that  writings  so  pure  and 
elevated  could  not  have  been  produced  by  base  or  bad 
men.  This  class  maintains  that,  though  honest  and 
candid,  they  invented  and  recorded  fictions,  assert- 
ing as  true  and  real  what  they  knew  to  be  false,  and 
practising  deception  for  pious  purposes.  But  neither 
is  this  theory  satisfactory  to  the  majority  of  infidels. 
Indeed,  only  a  few  rely  on  it  as  explaining  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Gospels.  Hence  the  mythical  theory  has 
been  started,  acquitting  the  writers  of  intentional 
fraud  and  of  conscious  invention,  but  representing 
them  as  the  compilers  of  fictions  and  stories  uncon- 
sciously wrought  out  by  others.  This  theory  asserts 
the  Gospels  to  be  a  conglomeration  of  facts  and 
fictions,  unconscious  inventions,  and  an  uncertain 
amount  of  historical  verity — a  sort  of  deposit  from 
the  debris  of  Jewish  history,  fancy,  and  floating  tra- 
dition. But  even  this  theory  has  but  few  advocates. 
Its  greatest  champion  has  virtually  repudiated  it, 
and  gone  back  to  the  older  theory  of  conscious  in- 
vention, which  he  advocates  under  the  new  name. 
The  legendary  theory  has  but  one  advocate — its  ro- 
mantic founder.  It  is  thus  that  theory  after  theory 
is  proposed  to  show  that  tlie  Bible  and  Christianity 
are  merely  human,   or   rather  Jewish   productions. 


INFIDEL   THEORIES   CONTINUED.  483 

It  IS  thus  that  Infidels  oppose  and  demolish  each 
other's  theories.  Every  little  while  a  theory  is  start- 
ed that  is  welcomed  by  infidels  as  settling  the  whole 
question ;  but  it  is  soon  displaced  by  another,  that 
lives  its  short  day,  and  then  gives  place  to  a  third. 
The  writings  of  the  Tyndal  and  Morgan  school  are 
now  obsolete,  and  would  be  almost  unknown,  but 
for  the  accounts  of  them  in  Leland's  View  of  Deisti- 
cal  Writers,  The  majority  of  educated  infidels  are 
ashamed  of  such  writers  as  Voltaire,  Bolingbroke, 
and  Paine.  Strauss  sets  aside  the  theory  that  the 
evangelical  writers  were  guilty  of  contrivance  and 
intentional  deception.  Baur,  under  the  name  of 
tendency-ihQory J  renews  and  advocates  the  charge  of 
contrivance  and  intentional  deception.  Strauss  yields 
to  his  stronger  rival,  and  under  the  name  of  the 
mythical  theory  revives  the  stale  charge  of  fiction 
and  fraud.  Parker  ridicules  and  laughs  at  Strauss. 
Renan  deviates  from  them  all.  The  Westminster 
Review  denounces  the  assumptions,  dogmatism,  and 
inconsistency  of  E-enan;  and  exposes  his 'unbounded 
credulity.'  And  this  infidel  journal  stultifies  itself 
by  speaking  at  one  time  of  the  fascinating  character 
— the  solemn  grandeur — and  elevating,  enriching, 
guiding,  glorious  career  of  the  Saviour  while  on 
earth  ;'^  and  by  asserting  at  another,  that  the  gospel 
narratives  are  not  trustworthy ;  and  that  we  cannot  be 
said  to  know  anything  either  of  the  Founder  or  the 
first  preachers  of  Christianity.  It  thus  contradicts 
itself,  and  subjects  itself  to  the  charge  of  boundless 
^  April,  1863,  p.  269. 


484      MODES   OF   ACCOUNTING   FOB   ITS   ORIGIN. 

credulity  which  it  fastens  upon  Renan.  Thus  infi- 
dels have  done,  and  are  doing,  little  but  demolishing 
each  other^s  theories.  Their  writings  and  conject- 
ures remind  us  of  the  Bible  account  of  the  slaughter 
of  the  Philistines  by  Jonathan  and  his  armor-bearer: 
— *  Behold,  the  multitude  melted  away,  and  they 
went  on  beating  down  one  another.'^  Hence  we 
thmk  Christianity  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  mul- 
tiplication of  infidel  books.  They  but  contradict  and 
refute  one  another.  It  is  the  mercenary  and  mate- 
rialistic spirit  of  the  age,  and  its  selfishness  and  friv- 
olity, rather  than  the  theories  and  argumentation  of 
infidels,  that  resist  the  influence  of  the  Bible,  and  re- 
tard the  progress  of  Christianity.  Infidelity  by  its 
assumptions,  dogmatism,  inconsistencies,  contradic- 
tions, and  ^  boundless  credulity,^  will  work  its  own 
cure  in  earnest  and  reflective  minds;  while  the  trans- 
cendent excellence  of  the  Bible  above  all  other 
books  will  ensure  the  recognition  of  its  supernatural 
origin  and  divine  authority. 

UBam.  14:  16. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  INFIDEL  ASSUMPTION  THAT  MIRACLES 
ARE   INCREDIBLE. 

The  abstract  impossibility  of  miracles  is  asserted 
by  few  if  any  intelligent  men  who  believe  in  the 
existence  of  God.  It  would  take  an  irreverent  and 
daring  man,  or  a  very  ignorant  one,  to  assert  that 
the  Almighty  cannot  work  a  miracle.  It  is  a  dictate 
of  common  sense  that  the  Infinite  Being,  who  crea- 
ted the  heavens  and  earth,  can  arrest  the  sun  and 
moon  in  their  course,  and  change  the  motion  of  the 
earth.  He,  who  creates  the  human  body  and  soul, 
certainly  has  power  to  reanimate  a  human  body, — to 
replace  the  soul  in  a  body  from  which  it  has  been 
removed  by  death.  The  almighty  Creator, — who 
knows  all  the  bones,  muscles,  veins,  arteries,  nerves, 
and  all  the  organs,  vessels  and  tissues  of  the  human 
body,  and  all  the  diseases  to  which  they  are  subject, 
— certainly  has  the  power  instantaneously  to  cure 
every  such  disease.  For  aught  that  men  on  earth 
can  know,  there  may  be  in  some  of  the  starry 
worlds  intellectual  beings  whom  God  by  his  infinite 
power  might  transport  to  earth  as  messengers  of  his 
will.  Who  will  assert  that  God  has  not  the  i)0wer 
to  transport  a  human  being  alive  to  some  of  the 
planets  or  fixed  stars,  and  to  bring  him  back  again 
41*  485 


486      MODES   OF   ACCOUNTING   FOU   ITS   ORIGIN. 

to  earth?  He  who  believes  that  there  is  a  God  in 
lieaven  must  admit  that  such  things  are  possible 
with  God,  and  therefore  must  admit  the  abstract 
possibility  of  miracles.  God,  who  is  a  supernatural 
Being,  possesses  su})ernatural  power,  and  can,  if  he 
chooses,  do  supernatural  things. 

But  infidels  seldom  deny  the  abstract  possibility 
of  miracles.  They  generally  assert  only  that  ^  mir- 
acles are  incredible,  if  not  impossible.'  Tacitly  or 
expressly  admitting  their  abstract  possibility,  they 
roundly  assert  their  incredibility.  But  the  possibil- 
ity of  miracles  demonstrates  their  credibility.  A 
possible  thing  is  a  thing  that  may  be  or  may  take 
'place.  An  incredible  thing  is  a  thing  that  cannot  be 
believed.  If  a  man  admits  that  a  thing  is  possible, 
he  admits  that  he  believes  that  it  may  be,  or  may 
take  place.  To  say  that  a  thing  is  possible  but  not 
credible,  is  virtually  to  say  that  though  a  thing  may 
take  place,  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  it  may  take 
place!  To  assert  that  miracles,  although  possible, 
are  not  credible,  is  virtually  to  assert  that  though  a 
miracle  may  take  place,  no  one  can  believe  that  a 
miracle  can  take  place.  Hence  the  possibility  of 
miracles  demonstrates  their  credibility.  Indeed,  it 
seems  strange  that  any  man  who  knows  anything 
about  human  history,  or  the  religious  opinions  of 
mankind,  should  assert  that  miracles  are  incredible; 
that  is,  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  in  them.  For 
the  majority  of  men  in  all  ages  have  believed  in 
them.  The  Egyptians,  Hebrews,  Hindus,  Persians, 
Chinese,  Greeks,  Romans,  Arabians,  and  every  na- 
tion and  race  known  to  us  in  history   have  believed 


CREDIBILITY   OF   MIRACLES.  487 

in  them.  The  supernatural  is  the  basis  of  every 
system  of  religion  known  among  men.  Every  re- 
ligion,— Christianity,  Judaism,  Paganism,  Moham- 
medism,  down  to  Fetichisra, — assumes  or  asserts  the 
reality  of  miracles.  Infidelity,  which  rejects  the 
reality  and  credibility  of  miracles,  is  not  a  religious 
system,  but  a  mere  negation.  This  fact  of  the  al- 
most universal  belief  in  miracles,  gives  the  lie  to  the 
assumption  that  miracles  are  incredible.  Is  it  not 
strange  that  an  intelligent  man  should  assert  that 
miracles  are  incredible,  while  all  history  demon- 
strates that  nearly  all  mankind  have  believed  in 
them?  It  is  not  strange  that  an  honest  man  should 
assert  that  a  thing  is  incredible — cannot  be  believed 
— while  he  is  making  an  effort  to  destroy  a  wide- 
spread belief  in  that  thing?  *  Miracles  are  incred- 
ible— they  cannot  be  believed,'  cries  the  infidel; 
while  his  regret  is  that  a  very  large  portion  of  man- 
kind have  actually  believed,  and,  notwithstanding 
all  his  efforts,  continue  to  believe  in  the  supernatu- 
ral inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  supernatu- 
ral events  recorded  in  them ! 

Even  if  the  infidel  should  assert  that  miracles  are 
incredible  by  2')kilosophiG  and  educated  minds,  his 
assertion  would  be  manifestly  false.  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth, Paul,  John,  Isaiah,  David,  Moses,  and  others 
of  the  Biblical  writers, — who  had  something  better 
than  modern  education  and  philosophy,  and  have 
given  to  the  world  the  most  sublime  literature,  mor- 
ality, and  theology  ever  known  among  men, — be- 
lieved in  miracles.  The  greatest  poets,  historians, 
philosophers,  and  statesmen  among  the  ancient  hea- 


488      MODES    OF   ACCOUXTING   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

then  believed  in  miracles.  Augustine,  Athanasius, 
Luther,  Calvin,  Knox,  Pascal,  Fenelon,  Wesley, 
Hall,  Chalmers,  Mason,  Edwards,  and  other  theo- 
loo-ical  chiefs, — who  had  the  most  gifted  and  best 
educated  minds  of  their  age, — believed  in  miracles. 
Bacon,  Newton,  Locke,  Milton,  Grotius,  and  other 
giants  in  literature  and  science,  believed  in  miracles. 
Indeed,  the  majority  of  learned  men,  and  the  over- 
whelming majority  of  enlightened  people  that  have 
lived  and  died  during  eighteen  hundred  years,  have 
believed  in  the  very  miracles  which  the  infidel  wish- 
es especially  to  disprove — the  supernatural  inspira- 
tion of  the  Bible,  and  the  supernatural  character  of 
Jesus.  These  miracles  are  yet  believed  by  a  very 
large  number  of  the  educated  and  enlightened  por- 
tion of  mankind  now  living  in  this  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  It  is  not  true  that  educated 
minds  cannot  believe  in  miracles.  The  assumption 
that  they  are  incredible  is  manifestly  and  glaringly 
false.  The  assertion  indicates  a  want  either  of  con- 
sideration or  candor.  Nor  is  this  the  only  instance 
of  infidel  persistence  in  assumptions  and  assertions 
to  which  history,  observation,  and  experience  give 
the  lie.  Miracles,  then,  are  both  possible  and  cred- 
ible. God  can,  by  his  infinite  power,  perform  mir- 
acles; and  hence  they  are  possible.  Since  they  are 
])ossible,  they  are  not  altogether  incredible.  They 
are  shown  to  be  credible,  that  is,  believable,  by  the 
fact  that  they  have  been  believed  by  nearly  all  men 
in  all  ages. 

INIiracles  are  believed;  but  ought  they  to  be  be- 
lieved? The  realiti/  of  miracles  is  the  main  question. 


CEEPIBILITY   OF   MIRACLES.  489 

We  assert  that  all  men  except  thorough-going  athe- 
ists, do  believe  in  their  reality.  Hume,  Voltaire, 
and  E,ousseau  so  believed.  Strauss,  Renan,  the  West- 
minster Reviewers,  and  the  many  skeptical  writers 
uho  assume  with  so  much  assurance  and  dogmatism 
the  incredibility  of  miracles,  do  after  all  believe  in 
them.  We  do  not  assert  that  they  believe  in  the 
Christian  miracles — the  supernatural  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures,  the  supernatural  character  ot  Christ, 
and  his  resurrection  and  ascension.  But  they  believe 
in  other  miracles.  A  miracle  is  a  supernatural  event, 
something  above  or  beyond  nature  and  its  laws.  (1) 
The  class  of  writers  to  whom  we  now  refer  have  much 
to  say  about  the  laivs  of  nature.  But  the  existence 
of  the  laws  of  nature  implies  a  supernatural  power 
which  established  them.  There  can  be  no  law  with- 
out a  lawgiver.  A  law  neither  establishes  itself  nor 
executes  itself.  The  establishment,  then,  of  what  are 
called  Hhe  laws  of  nature^  is  something  above  na- 
ture; and  the  intelligent  thinker  who  believes  in  the 
laws  of  nature  must  believe  in  supernaturalism,  (2) 
Most  people  who  believe  in  the  existence  of  God,  be- 
lieve in  his  superintending  Providence.  Voltaire 
often  speaks  of  'Divine  Providence,'  even  in  his 
attacks  on  Christianity.^  Gibbon  attributes  the  suc- 
cess of  Christianity  partly  to  'the  ruling  providence 
of  its  great  Author.'^  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle- 
Cicero,  and  the  best  of  the  heathen  philosophers; 
acknowledged  an  over-ruling  Providence.  Such  we 
understand  to  be  the  belief  of  all  intelli<z:ent  theists. 
^Phil.  Diet.  Art.  Christianitij.        '-^Chap.  15. 


490     MODES  OF  ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS  ORIGIN. 

Now,  Divine  Providence  is  above  nature,  and  who- 
ever believes  in  the  former  believes  in  the  super- 
natural.  It  matters  not,  so  far  as  the  present  ar- 
gument is  concerned,  whether  the  skeptic  believes 
in  a  Providence  that  is  universal  and  minute,  or 
only  general.  We  may  allow  him  to  get  very  low 
down  in  his  ideas  on  this  subject.  If  he  does  not 
believe  that  God,  after  creating  the  universe,  entire- 
ly abandoned  it,  and  that  it  is  now  in  reality 
without  a  ruler  and  without  a  God — if  he  does 
not  believe  that  the  Creator,  after  starting  the  uni- 
verse, left  it  to  run  on  forever  of  itself,  and  that 
it  does  not  need  even  so  much  as  to  be  wound  up 
like  a  watch — if  he  believes  that  God  now  exercises 
any  care  over  his  creatures,  or  has  now  anything  to 
do  with  the  works  of  his  hands — if  he  believes  that 
God  puts  forth  any  power  or  energy  in  the  produc- 
tion or  direction  of  the  earthquake,  storm,  and  pes- 
tilence, in  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations  and  empires, 
or  in  any  of  the  momentous  aifairs  of  the  universe; 
— if  he  believes  in  a  superintending  Providence  at 
all,  he  believes  in  supernaturalism — something  above 
nature.  (3)  The  creation  of  all  things  out  of  noth- 
ing is  a  miracle — a  most  stupendous  miracle — in 
which  nearly  all  men  believe.  We  are  not  aware 
that  any  skeptics  now  maintain  the  eternity  of  the 
universe.  Many  of  them  admire  the  opening  decla- 
ration of  the  Bible  as  sublime  and  true.  All  of  them 
so  far  as  we  know,  admit  the  stupendous  fact  of  the 
Creation.  Some  of  them  maintain  Hhe  development 
theory.'  A  few  of  them  go  perhaps  as  far  as  Dar- 
win; who   advances   the   opinion  that   the  various 


CREDIBILITY    OF   MIRACLES.  491 

races  of  animals  and  plants  have  been  developed  from 
four  or  five,  or  probably  from  one  primordial  form;^ 
that  men,  asses,  kangaroos,  and  rattlesnakes  have  a 
common  progenitor;  and  that  the  bear,  by  swim- 
ming much  in  the  water  with  open  mouth,  was,  by 
slight  changes,  gradually  continued  generation  after 
generation,  metamophosed  into  the  whale;  and  that 
all  animals  with  tails  formerly  lived  in  the  water  and 
used  their  tails  to  steer  by  in  swimming;  and  that 
even  man  was  once  a  water  animal  that  ^swam  the 
ocean  stream,'  but  afterward  came  out  on  land  and 
lost  all  the  organs  and  appendages  which  then  ceased 
to  be  useful.  But  even  Mr.  Darwin  does  not  exclude 
the  idea  of  creation  and  of  the  supernatural.  He 
does  not  represent  the  one  primordial  form,  from 
which  he  supposes  all  plants  and  animals  to  have  de- 
scended, as  ci^eating  itself)  but  as  being  created.  He 
also  speaks  of  Uhe  laws  impressed  on  matter  by  the 
Creator.'^  It  is  thus  seen  that  *  the  devolopment  hy- 
pothesis'— carried  to  the  very  verge  of  atheism — still 
of  necessity  admits  the  idea  of  the  supernatural:  that 
*  primordial  form,'  monad,  triad,  pentad,  or  whatever 
it  may  be  imagined  to  have  been,  did  not  create  itself. 
The  laws  which  were  impressed  upon  it,  and  accord- 
ing to  which  it  began  to  develop'  itself  into  all 
kinds  of  plants  and  animals,  did  not  establish  them- 
selves. That  starting  point  of  the  universe  implies 
an  act  of  creation.  Those  laws  imply  a  law-giver, 
Skeptical  speculatists  do,  indeed,  well  nigh  in  theory 
exclude  God  from  the    universe.     They,  however, 

^  Origin  of  Species,  p.  419.     ^  p.  423 


492      MODES  OF    ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS  ORIGIN. 

admit  His  power  aud  agency  at  one  point;  and 
in  so  doing  they  admit  something  above  and  be- 
yond nature.  That  first  existence  or  form  of  which 
Darwin  speaks,  not  being  the  production  of  natural 
laws  or  forces,  was  supernatural  or  miraculous.  (4) 
But  the  Darwinian  or  Lamarckian  theory  is  by  no 
means  universally  accepted  by  scientific  men.  Sir 
Charles  Lyell, — though  he  formerly  opposed  it, — 
has,  indeed,  indorsed  it.  But  its  advocates  as  yet  are 
in  the  minority.  Darwin  himself  says  that  ^authors 
of  the  highest  eminence  seem  to  be  fully  satisfied 
with  the  view  that  each  species  has  been  independ- 
ently created.'^  Many  geologists  assert  that  their 
stony  science  demonstrates  that  existing  species  of 
plants  and  animals  have  again  and  again  disappeared 
from  the  earth,  and  been  succeeded  by  new  species. 
These  new  species  are  represented  as  coming  into  exis- 
tence by  an  act  oi creation.  Even  Sir.  C.  Lyell  him- 
self speaks,  or  has  spoken,  of  them  as  being  thus 
called  into  being.^  This  repeated  introduction  of  new 
species,  as  demonstrated  by  geology,  is  a  superna- 
tural event.  The  creation  of  the  megatherium,  ig- 
uanodon,  or  any  other  new  sj)ecies  of  animals  or 
j)lants,  and  its  introduction  among  existing  8[)ecies, — 
thousands  of  years  after  the  original  creation, — is 
just  as  great  a  miracle  as  tlie  instantaneous  curing 
of  the  blind  and  the  sick,  and  the  raising  of  the  dead. 
If  God  should  before  the  eyes  of  the  infidel  destroy 
an  existing  species  of  plants  or  animals,  and  cause  a 
new  species  to  spring  up  out  of  the  earth,  he  would, 

^p.  423.        ''Prln.  of  GcoL  pp.  704-7. 


CREDIBILITY   OF   MIRACLES.  493 

according  to  his  own  views,  reject  the  evidence  of  his 
senses,  on  the  ground  that  ^miracles  are  incredible, 
if  not  impossible/  Yet  he  admits  the  creation  and 
introduction  of  many  new  species  thousands  or  mil- 
lions of  years  ago,  as  demonstrated  by  the  discover- 
ies of  geology.  One  of  the  new  species  thus  created 
and  introduced  is  man.  The  unity  of  the  human 
race,  and  their  descent  from  one  original  pair,  are 
now  well  established  scientific  truths.  Does  the  in- 
fidel accept  the  Darwinian  theory  in  regard  to  the 
production  of  the  first  human  pair,  and  maintain 
they  were  derived  by  ^natural  selection'  from  pre- 
existing brutal  species?  Does  he  hold  that  men,  even 
as  it  regards  their  intellectual  and  moral  faculties, 
are  brothers  to  the  monkey  and  the  ass?  We  under- 
stand, indeed,  that  the  great  majority  of  scientific 
men,  whether  Christian  or  skeptical,  admit  that 
there  was  one  original  human  pair;  and  that  this 
pair  constituted  a  new  species,  being  called  into  be- 
ing by  a  creative  act  of  the  Almighty.  We  under- 
stand further,  that  the  majority  of  scientific  men 
whether  Christian  or  skeptical,  admit — or  at  least  do 
not  deny — that  as  God  called  into  being  the  first 
human  soul  or  first  pair  of  human  souls  by  an  im- 
mediate act  of  creation,  so  human  souls  are  perhaps 
called  into  being  by  immediate  creation  now.  The 
antiquity  of  man  as  advocated  of  late  by  some  geolo- 
gists has  nothing  to  do  with  this  question.  The  crea- 
tion of  a  human  soul  fifty  thousand,  fifty  millions,  or 
fifty  thousand  millions  of  years  ago,  is  just  as  super- 
natural an  event  as  the  creation  of  a  human  soul 
now.  The  creation  of  new  species,  as  taught  by  ge- 
42 


494      MODES   OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

ology  and  as  exemplified  in  the  human  race,  demon- 
strates not  only  the  credibility,  but  also  the  reality 
of  miracles. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  all  who  believe  in  a  Creator 
and  supreme  Ruler,  do  in  reality  believe  in  super- 
naturalism.  Indeed,  most  skeptics  seem  very  will- 
ing to  admit  supernatural  agency  and  power  in  the 
creation  of  the  world,  the  establishment  and  execu- 
tion of  the  laws  of  nature,  an  over-ruling  providence, 
and  the  creation  of  the  first  human  pair, — if  not  also 
in  the  continued  creation  of  human  souls.  Many  of 
them  also  seem  willing  to  admit  supernatural  agency 
and  power  in  the  repeated  introduction  of  new  spe- 
cies, as  asserted  by  some  of  the  ablest  geologists. 
Skeptics  seem  to  have  no  difficulty  in  admitting 
supernaturalism  to  have  manifested  itself  fifty  thou- 
sand or  fifty  millions  of  years  ago,  and  in  the  mater- 
ial universe.  It  is  only  the  supernaturalism  of  hhe 
Bible  to  which  they  object.  Indeed,  it  is  only  as  an 
argument  against  the  supernatural  inspiration  and 
divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures  that  the  incred- 
ibility of  miracles  is  asserted.  Candor,  however, 
certainly  requires  of  the  champions  of  infidelity  the 
admission  of  the  following  propositions; — 

1.  God  is  a  supernatural  Being,  and  can  do  sup- 
pernatural  things.  Since  he  created  the  universe 
out  of  nothing,  he  can  annihilate  it.  Since  he  pos- 
sesses almighty  power,  he  can  arrest  the  planets  in 
their  course,  or  change  their  size  and  motion  as  he 
chooses.  Hence,  supernatural'  events,  that  is  mira- 
cles, are  at  \G2^^t  'possible. 

2.  Since  miracles  are  possible,  they  are  credible. 


CREDIBILITY   OF   MIRACLES.  495 

If  miracles  are  possible,  they  may  take  place.  To 
assert  their  incredibility,  then,  is  virtually  to  assert 
that  though  we  believe  that  they  may  he,  yet  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  they  may  he\ 

3.  The  credibility  of  miracles  is  further  shown  by 
the  fact,  that  the  great  majority  of  men  have  be- 
lieved in  them.  Not  only  have  people  in  general, 
but  a  majority  of  learned  and  philosophic  minds 
during  eighteen  centuries,  have  believed  in  the  mira- 
cles of  the  Bible.  It  is,  therefore,  absurd  to  assert 
that  miracles  are  not  credible;  that  is,  not  believable, 

4.  The  creation  of  the  world  and  of  the  first  hu- 
man pair,  the  over-ruling  providence  of  God,  and 
other  events  and  operations  in  the  natural  world,  are 
supernaluraly — resulting  from  an  agency  and  power 
above  nature, 

5.  As  a  law  can  neither  establish  nor  execute  it- 
self, the  so-called  laws  of  nature  imply  supernatural 
agency  and  power  in  their  establishment  and  execu- 
tion. 

6.  If  the  almighty  Creator  merely,  as  it  were, 
started  the  universe  and  then  left  it  to  run  on  for 
ever  by  means  of  the  forces  and  laws  contained  with- 
in itself — without  interposition,  direction,  or  any  in- 
fluence from  him, — the  world  would  be  without  a 
God,  and  not  a  single  change  would  have  been  pro- 
duced, had  the  Almighty  immediately  after  the  cre- 
ation ceased  to  exist. 

7.  The  interposition  of  God,  in  any  way,  in  any 
of  the  affairs  of  the  universe — his  direction  of  them, 
or  any  influence  from  him  on  any  part  of  the  uni- 
verse,  in   whatever  way  exerted, — is  supernatural; 


496      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS  OKIGIN. 

just  as  the  power  which  the  superintendent  of  a  ma- 
chine exerts  in  starting  it  to  run,  increasing  or  de- 
creasing its  speed,  changing  its  direction,  altering 
any  of  its  parts,  or  stopping  its  motion,  is  not  from 
tlie  machine,  but  in  the  superintendent. 

8.  Whether  God  ever  has  intervened  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  world;  whether  he  has  since  the  creation 
exerted  any  influence  to  produce  effects  which  would 
not  otherwise  have  been  produced;  whether  after 
the  creation  God  put  forth  any  })ower  to  produce 
any  change;  or,  whether  all  things  have  taken  place 
just  as  they  would  have  done  had  He  immediately 
after  the  creation  ceased  to  exist, — is  a  question  to  be 
determined,  not  by  any  a  priori  argument,  but  by 
the  examination  of  evidence.     Hence; 

9.  The  reality  of  the  supernatural  events  recor  Jed 
in  the  Bible  is  to  be  admitted  or  rejected  according 
to  tlie  evidence  offered  to  establish  them;  anfl  the 
assumption  of  the  impossibility  or  incredibility  (  ;  ^he 
supernatural  is  a  mere  begging  of  the  question 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   TWO   TflEORIES,   CHRISTIAN   AND    INFIDEL. 

There  are  in  reality  but  two  theories — the  Chris- 
tian and  infidel — in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  Bible. 
The  Christian  theory  is,  that  its  writers  were  in- 
spired and  superintended  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The 
infidel  theory  is,  that  it  was  wholly  the  work  of 
mere  men.  Differins;  from  one  another  and  contra- 
dieting  and  opposing  one  another,  as  infidels  do, 
they  agree  in  holding  and  advocating  this  one  idea, 
that  the  Bible  is  merely  a  human  production.  All 
their  learned  labors,  conjectures,  assumptions,  the- 
ories, and  argumentation  are  designed  to  prove  its 
merely  human  origin  and  character.  Their  confused 
and  contradictory  theories  that  have  been  noticed  in 
preceding  chapters, — the  mythical  theory,  the  legen- 
dary theory,  the  theory  of  fiction,  the  theory  of  im- 
posture and  fraud,  and  the  varying  assumptions  of 
German,  French,  English,  and  American  skeptics, — 
all  take  for  granted  that  the  book,  with  its  varied 
and  wonderful  contents,  was  produced  by  the  un- 
aided human  intellect;  and  differ  only  in  regard  to 
the  mode  of  its  production. 

The  question,  then,  is,  whether  the  Bible  is  super- 
natural, or  merely  human?  whether  mere  men,  or 
God  was  its  author?  We  have  demonstrated  its 
42*  497 


498      MODES  OF  ACCX)UNTING   FOR  ITS  ORIGIN. 

unparalleled  excellence — its  superiority  to  all  other 
books  in  ancient  and  modern  times.  As  some  infi- 
dels have  admitted,  the  Jews  were  incapable  of  in- 
venting its  literature,  morality,  and  theology.  Its 
sublime  poetry,  its  matchless  eloquence,  catholic 
spirit,  lofty  sentiments,  soul-stirring  truths,  ad- 
vanced political  ideas,  moral  beauty  and  power,  and 
divine  theology,  must  have  proceeded  from  a  higher 
source  than  the  uncultivated  minds  of  bigoted  and 
exclusive  Jews.  And  since  the  human,  Jewish  ori- 
gin of  the  Bible  is  inadmissible,  the  theory  that  its 
writers  were  aided  by  a  supernatural  influence  is  the 
only  one  that  accounts  for  its  origin.  Mere  men — 
unlearned  and  narrow-minded  Jews — could  not  or- 
iginate such  a  book.  But  with  God  all  things  are 
possible.  The  supernatural  origin  of  the  Bible  is  at 
least  possible,  since  there  is  an  almighty  God.  Be- 
tween these  two  theories  we  must  choose — the  one, 
supposing  an  impossible  thing,  and  involving  its  ad- 
vocates in  endless  contradictions  and  absurdities ; 
and  the  other,  assigning  a  possible  origin  to  the 
Scriptures,  and  attended  with  no  greater  difficulties 
than  the  belief  that  God  is  the  Creator  and  Ruler 
of  the  world.  (1)  Indeed,  the  argument  in  favor  of 
the  supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  drawn 
from  their  transcendent  excellence,  is  strengthened 
by  the  close  correspondence  between  their  statements 
and  the  facts  of  nature  and  providence.  The  Bible 
sets  forth  God's  dreadful  hatred  of  sin,  and  his  inflic- 
tion of  vengeance  on  wicked  transgressors ;  and  the 
actual  providence  of  God  teaches  the  same  lesson — 
the  world  is  full  of  proofs  of  God's  hatred  of  sin,  and 


THE  TWO  THEORIES,  CHRISTIAN  AND  INFIDEL.   499 

of  terrible  examples  of  his  vengeance.  The  Bible 
asserts  that  God  has,  by  means  of  the  natural  ele- 
ments and  by  the  agency  of  men,  exterminated  whole 
communities  for  their  sins;  and  history  and  obser- 
vation teach  that  God  does  destroy  thousands  and 
thousands  of  human  beings  with  sword,  famine,  pes- 
tilence, earthquake,  and  burning  lava,  and  that  often 
men,  women,  and  children  are  involved  in  a  common 
slaughter.  The  Bible  teaches  that  God  is  partial  to- 
ward his  creatures  in  this  sense,  that  he  favors  some 
more  than  others;  and  the  actual  condition  of  men 
demonstrates  the  same  truth.  The  Bible  teaches  the 
doctrine  of  hereditary  sin  and  punishment;  and  we 
find  that  the  murderer,  thief,  drunkard,  debauchee, 
and  other  transgressors  do  generally  entail  disgrace 
and  misery,  and  often  their  very  crimes,  upon  their 
offspring — thus  illustrating  the  truth  of  the  declara- 
tion, that  God  visits  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon 
the  children.  The  Bible  contains  many  statements 
that  appear  inconsistent  with  the  infinite  love  and 
mercy  which  it  ascribes  to  God,  and  with  the  univer- 
sal benevolence  which  it  enjoins  on  men.  But  the 
same  apparent  inconsistency  is  found  in  the  lessons 
taught  by  nature  and  providence — the  prosperity  of 
the  wicked  and  the  miseries  of  the  righteous  have 
ever  been  a  stumbling-block  to  the  thoughtful  and 
pious,  and  in  view  of  the  ever-flowing  tide  of  human 
woe  they  are  often  tempted  to  ask  in  despair,  ^Has 
God  ceased  to  be  merciful  for  ever-more?'  The 
Bible  contains  many  dark  sayings — mysterious  doc- 
trines that  can  be  but  imperfectly  understood;  and 
in  the  world  around  us  there  are  unfathomable  mys- 


500      MODES    OF    ACCOUNTING   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

teries — in  the  air  we  breathe,  the  water  we  drink, 
the  fire  that  warms  us,  the  light  that  illuminates  us; 
in  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  in  the  nervous  system, 
in  all  parts  of  our  bodies,  and  in  our  very  souls. 
Generation  and  birth,  life  and  death,  are  mysteries. 
The  Bible  contains  some  apparently  very  little  truths 
— references  to  matters  that  seem  to  us,  perhaps,  un- 
worthy of  God's  notice;  but  in  the  actual  world 
there  are  many  very  little  things,  and  things  that 
appear  altogether  useless,  yet  God  is  the  maker  of 
the  minute  insect  that  dances  in  the  sunbeam,  and  of 
the  nasty  worm  that  crawls  in  the  dust — as  well  as 
of  the  earth,  sun,  moon  and  stars.  Thus  the  doc- 
trines and  statements  of  the  Bible,  that  are  oftenest 
objected  to,  are  seen  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  facts 
of  history,  observation,  and  experience.  They  con- 
stitute what  Gothe  called  the  strong  naturalness  of 
the  Bible,  and  afford  strong  evidence  that  it  and  na- 
ture have  a  common  author.  How  could  such  men 
as  the  writers  of  the  Bible  are  known  to  have  been, 
invent  and  bring  together  such  dreadful  doctrines, 
hard  sayings,  and  unfathomable  mysteries,  as  seem 
to  the  careless  observer  and  captious  objector  to  be 
false,  unnatural,  and  pernicious,  but  which  a  deeper 
philosophy  and  a  more  careful  observation  discover 
to  be  consistent  with,  or  analogous  to  the  facts  of  hu- 
manity and  providence?  If  the  mysteries  and  diffi- 
culties presented  in  the  Bible  are  greater  than  those 
presented  by  reason  and  observation,  this  is  only 
Avhat  we  are  to  expect  if  the  Bible  be  a  divine  reve- 
lation. For  as  in  a  dark  night  the  traveler  whose 
torch  or  lantern  throws  its  light  the  farthest,  is  sur- 


THE  TWO  THEORIES,  CHRISTIAN  AND  INFIDEL.    501 

rounded  by  the  widest  circle  of  partially  illumined 
and  indistinctly  perceived  objects, — so  the  Bible, 
throwing  its  light  farther  over  the  region  of  morals 
and  theology  than  do  philosophy  and  science,  brings 
more  distinctly  into  view,  and  in  greater  numbers, 
the  mysteries  and  difficulties  which  often  perplex 
the  inquirer  after  truth.  Yet  the  close  analogy  that 
exists  in  this  respect  between  the  Bible  and  nature 
creates  a  strong  presumption  that,  as  the  latter,  so 
the  former  had  a  higher  origin  than  human  wisdom 
and  power. 

(2)  The  fact  that  there  are  apparent  discrepan- 
cies in  the  Bible  seems  to  us  in  reality  to  strengthen 
the  argument  in  favor  of  its  supernatural  inspiration. 
We  admit,  that,  if  it  contains  any  real  discrepancies 
— if  any  of  its  parts,  as  originally  written,  do  in  re- 
ality contradict  one  another — if  it  contains  mistakes 
and  inaccuracies — it  can  hardly  be  the  word  of  God. 
It  seems  to  us  to  be  of  no  avail  to  say,  (what  is  doubt- 
less true,)  that  the  alleged  discrepancies  and  inaccu- 
racies in  the  Bible  do  not  affect  any  important 
doctrine.  For  the  Almighty  certainly  never  com- 
mits even  little  mistakes,  nor  makes  even  harmless 
blunders.  It  seems  to  us  worse  than  useless  to  ac- 
count for  alleged  discrepancies  and  inaccuracies  on 
the  ground  that  the  Biblical  writers  were  guided  by 
divine  inspiration  only  in  regard  to  the  thour/hts  to 
be  expressed,  but  not  in  regard  to  the  lang^iage  to 
be  used  in  expressing  them.  For  the  alleged  dis- 
crepancies and  inaccuracies  are  in  the  thoughts,  not 
in  the  language  employed  to  express  them.  And  if 
the  writers  were  not  guided  and  superintended  by 


502      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR  ITS  ORIGIN. 

divine  inspiration  in  the  use  of  language,  we  have 
no  assurance  that  even  the  most  important  doctrines 
are  anywhere  accurately  expressed,  and  the  Bible  is 
not  an  infallible  guide  even  in  theology.  Nor  does 
it  afford  any  relief  to  assume,  that  the  Scripture 
writers  were  infallible  in  the  presentation  of  doc- 
trines and  precepts,  but  not  in  historical  statements; 
for  the  most  important  parts  of  the  Bible  are  histori- 
cal— those  containing  an  account  of  the  life,  charac- 
ter, death  and  resurrection  of  Christ.  It  seems  to 
us,  therefore,  that  the  existence  of  real  inaccuracies 
in  the  Scriptures  is  scarcely  reconcilable  with  their 
divine  origin  and  authority.  Yet  the  existence  of 
such  inaccuracies,  if  proved,  would  not  necessarily  de- 
stroy our  belief  in  supernatural  inspiration.  Par- 
tial inspiration  is  j)ossible.  God  might  inspire  men 
to  write  an  imperfect,  fallible  book  ;  though  we  think 
it  very  improbable  that  he  would  do  so.  But  the 
merely  human  origin  of  the  Bible  was  impossible. 
The  learning,  philosophy,  and  genius  of  the  world 
could  not,  much  less  could  Jewish  ignorance  and  big- 
otry, produce  a  book  of  such  transcendent  excellence. 
Improbable  as  is  the  theory  of  partial  inspiration,  it 
is  more  credible  than  the  one  which  assumes  the 
Scriptures  to  be  merely  a  human,  Jewish  book. 

We,  however,  regard  the  alleged  discrepancies  and 
inaccuracies  as  only  apparent.  We  believe  that  the 
most  of  them  are  easily  shown  to  be  such.  Thus 
the  apparent  discrepancy  between  John  20:  1  and 
Mark  16:  1-2  is  removed  by  our  considering  that 
John  docs  not  assert  that  Mary  Magdalene  was  not 
accompanied   by  other  women   in   her  visit  to   the 


THE  TWO  THEORIES,  CHRISTIAN  AXD  INFIDEL.    503 

sepulchre,  and  that  Mark  mentions  her  first,  as 
being  the  most  prominent  among  them;  and,  that 
the  former  speaks  of  the  time  of  their  setting  out  to 
go^othe  sepulchre  (s^c),  and  the  latter  of  the  time  of 
their  arrival  at  the  sepulchre  (e-Ki).  The  supposed 
inaccuracy  of  Matthew^  in  ascribing  language  to 
Jeremiah  that  is  not  found  in  his  prophecy,  is  ex- 
plained by  our  considering  that  Matthew  quoted  a 
prediction  that  was  spoken,  but  not  recorded,  by 
Jeremiah  ;  just  as  Jude  quotes  a  prediction  by  Enoch 
that  is  recorded  nowhere  in  the  Bible  except  in 
Jude's  quotation.^  The  alleged  mistake  in  Matt. 
23:  35  is  shown  to  exist  only  in  the  imagination  of 
objectors,  by  the  consideration  that  Jesus  and  the 
evangelist  were  better  acquainted  with  Jewish  af- 
fairs in  their  own  times  than  modern  critics,  and 
doubtless  knew  of  the  violent  death  of  one  named 
Zacharias,  son  of  Barachias,  as  mentioned  in  the 
passage  referred  to.  The  discrepancy  between  the 
statements  in  Matt.  4:  1-11  and  Luke  4:  1-13  is 
shown  to  be  only  apparent,  by  the  fact  that  Matthew 
observes  the  chronological  order  in  his  account  of 
the  three  temptations,  and  that  Luke,  according  to 
his  custom,  does  not.  The  apparent  discrepancy 
between  John  and  the  other  evangelists  in  resrard  to 
the  time  of  the  crucifixion,  is  explained  by  our  read- 
ing in  John  19:  14,  third  instead  of  sixth,  according 
to  sevieral  ancient  Greek  manuscripts;  or  by  our 
understanding  John  to  follow  the  Roman  method  of 
noting  time. 

» Matt.  27  :  9-10.        ^  j^ j^  i4_i5_ 


504    :^^ODES  of  accounting  for  its  otiigin. 

AVc  believe,  incleed,  that  most  of  the  alleged  dis- 
crepancies and  other  textual  difficulties  presented  in 
the  Bible  have  been  satisfactorily  explained.  They 
are  mostly  such  as  arise  from  errors  in  transcribing, 
mis-translation,  or  mis-interpretation;  and  have  been 
noticed  by  Bible  commentators  again  and  again. 
After  all  the  learned  labors  of  critics,  we  must  say 
that  so  far  as  alleged  discre])ancies  are  concerned, 
very  little  that  is  new  has  been  produced  of  late, 
either  by  thorough-going  infidels,  or  the  opponents 
of  the  plcno.ry  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  We 
consider  such  books  as  Colenso's  well-nigh  to  an 
insult;  asking  us  to  give  up  deliberate  convictions 
on  grounds  that  have  been  examined  and  repeatedly 
declared  insufficient,  and  offering  us  nothing  but 
alleged  discrepancies  and  textual  difficulties  that  we 
have  been  flimiliar  with  nearly  all  our  lives. 

But  we  freely  admit  that  there  are  apparent  dis- 
crepancies and  other  difficulties  presented  in  the 
Bible,  of  which  ])erhaps  no  explanation  entirely 
satisfactory  can  be  given.  We  maintain,  however, 
that  this  fact  does  not  weaken,  but  strengthens  the 
argument  in  favor  of  the  divine  inspiration  of  the 
Bible  drawn  from  its  surpassing  excellence.  With- 
out some  such  diflicultics  it  could  hardly  be  the 
word  of  God.  It  is  to  be  ex})cctcd  that  a  book  con- 
taining a  revelation  from  God  will  present  some 
things  hard  to  be  understood,  and  some  things  ap- 
]>arently  inconsistent  with  one  another.  A  book 
without  api)arent  inconsistencies  and  contradictions 
would  not  correspond  to  the  works  of  God.  In  the 
world  around  us  there  are  many  apparent  discrep- 


THE  TWO  TflEORIES,  CHRISTIAN  AND   INFIDEL.    505 

ancles.  The  benevolence  of  God  is  manifested  in 
creation  and  providence.  But  with  the  lesson  thus 
taught  many  things  seem  utterly  inconsistent.  One 
}>art  of  God's  works  appears  to  contradict  another. 
Why  did  God  create  barren  deserts?  Why  did  God 
create  the  mirage,  which  serves  only  to  lure  thirsty 
travelers,  to  their  own  destruction,  into  the  trackless 
wilderness?  AVhy  did  God  create  bogs  and  marshes 
which  breed  only  filthy  reptiles,  stench,  and  deadly 
diseases?  Why  are  some  men  born  with  hereditary 
diseases  and  deformities?  AVhy  does  God  create 
idiots  and  miserable  hunchbacks?  Why  do  infants 
suffer  and  die?  Why  do  men  die  at  all?  Why  is 
this  world  which  God  created  and  rules,  so  full  of 
wretchedness  and  misery?  If,  in  answer  to  these 
questions,  it  is  said,  that  men  suffer  on  account  of 
their  sins;  it  may  be  asked,  is  it  on  account  of  their 
own  sins  that  some  men  are  born  idiots,  and  others 
diseased  and  deformed?  Is  it  on  account  of  their 
own  sins  that  infants  suffer  and  die?  Even  if  it 
could  be  shown  that  God  inflicts  punishment  for  sin 
by  anticipation  before  its  commission,  this  would 
not  account  for  the  sufferings  of  idiots  and  infants. 
For  thousands  and  thousands  of  idiots  and  infants 
die  without  becoming  accountable  for  their  actions, 
and  without  committing  any  sin.  And  though  hu- 
man sinfulness  may  account  for  the  sufferings  of 
adults  in  general,  yet  why  are  there  so  great  ine- 
qualities in  the  condition  and  punishment  of  men? 
Why  do  the  guilty  often  escape,  and  the  innocent 
often  suffer.  Why  do  many  selfish,  cruel,  murder- 
ous tyrants  and  oppressors  enjoy  continued  health, 
43 


506      MODES   OF   ACCOUNTI^'G   FOR   ITS   ORIGIN. 

ease,  and  prosperity;  while  many  honest  men  and 
pure  and  lovely  women  spend  days,  months,  years, 
their  whole  lives,  in  ceaseless  toil  and  sorrow?  In 
addition  to  these  unanswered  and  unanswerable 
questions,  we  may  ask,  why  did  God  permit  the 
existence  of  moral  evil?  Why  did  he  create  a  world 
in  which  there  is  so  much  sin  and  so  much  suifer- 
ing?  Why  does  not  God  prevent  lying,  drunken- 
ness, war,  oppression,  murder,  and  other  evils?  Do 
you  say  he  cannot?  Do  you  say  that  if  he  would 
make  the  attempt  he  would  fail?  Do  you  say  that 
if  God  had  tried,  he  could  not  have  created  a  world 
in  which  there  would  be  no  sin  and  no  suffering? 
The  truth  is,  that  in  creation  and  providence  there 
are  many  things  that  appear  to  us  short-sighted 
mortals,  to  be  mistakes.  The  permission  of  moral 
evil  appears  a  dreadful  mistake.  The  subjection  of 
infants  to  suffering  and  death  seems  another  dread- 
ful mistake.  The  man  born  without  eyes,  the  man 
born  without  hands,  that  miserable  hunchback — the 
man  who,  like  king  Richard,  is  sent  into  the  world 
deformed,  unfinished,  'scarce  half  made  up,  and  that 
so  lamely  and  unfashionably,  that  the  dogs  bark  at 
him'^ — seem  to  be  blunders  of  the  Great  Artist. 
How  does  every  theist  reason  with  regard  to  these 
matters?  He  admits  that  there  are  mysteries,  and 
apparent  discrepancies  and  mistakes  in  creation  and 
providence.  He  admits  that  there  are  many  things 
in  the  world  around  him  which  he  cannot  reconcile 
with  one  another,  nor  with  the  infinite  wisdom,  good- 

*  King  Richard  iii.  Act  1,  scene  1. 


THE  TWO  THEORIES,  CHRISTIAN  AND  INFIDEL.    507 

ness,  and  power  of  God,  and  his  over-ruling  provi- 
dence. The  theist  does  rfot,  however,  conclude  that' 
therefore  God  did  not  create,  and  does  not  rule  the 
world.  Nor  does  he  conclude,  as  did  the  ancient 
Grecians  and  Romans,  that  God  is  controlled  by  fate, 
against  which  he  struggles  in  vain.  Nor  does  he 
adopt  the  opinion  of  the  ancient  Persians,  that  there 
are  two  Gods, — one  of  light  and  of  goodness,  and  an- 
other of  darkness  and  of  evil.  Notwithstandintr  the 
apparently  irreconcilable  contradictions  and  inconsis- 
tencies in  creation  and  providence,  he  holds  to  the 
belief  that  they  have  but  one  Author,  who  is  ab- 
solutely free  and  sovereign.  Notwithstanding  the 
many  seeming  indications  of  mistake,  malev^oleuce, 
or  weakness,  he  firmly  believes  that  God  is  infinitely 
wise,  benevolent,  and  powerful.  He  admits  that  in 
God's  works  there  are  mysteries  which  he  cannot 
understand;  apparent  contradictions  which  he  can- 
not reconcile;  and  apparent  mistakes  which  he  can- 
not explain.  Yet  he  maintains  that  notwithstanding 
these,  all  God's  wo-rks  are  righteous  and  perfect.  He 
believes  that  were  his  mental  powers  and  his  knowl- 
edge much  enlarged,  he  would  be  able  to  explain 
many  apparent  contradictions  and  mistakes  in  crea- 
tion and  providence;  and  that  infinite  wisdom  can 
explain  them  all.  So  the  Christian  may  admit  that 
there  are  mysteries  in  the  Bible  which  he  cannot 
solve;  apparent  contradictions  which  he  cannot  rec- 
oncile; and  apparent  mistakes  which  he  cannot  ex- 
plain ;  and  yet  maintain  that  God  is  its  author.  He, 
too,  may  say,  that  had  he  much  enlarged  powers  and 
knowledge,  he  might  understand  and  explain  many 


608      MODES  OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR  ITS   ORIGIN. 

of  tlie  mysteries,  and  apparent  inconsistencies  and  in- 
'  accuracies  at  which  the  Skeptic  stumbles.  These 
alleged  inconsistencies  and  inaccuracies  no  more 
disprove  the  supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Biblical 
writers  than  do  the  mysteries  and  apparent  contradic- 
tions and  mistakes  in  creation  and  providence  dis- 
prove the  existence  of  God,  or  that  he  created  and 
rules  the  world.  Notwithstanding  these  mysteries 
and  apparent  contradictions  and  mistakes,  it  is 
easier  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  God  and  his 
over-ruling  providence,  than  to  believe  that  the 
world  was  made  by  chance.  So,  however  formid- 
able the  objection  against  the  supernatural  inspira- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  drawn  from  their  seeming 
discrepancies  and  mistakes  may  appear,  it  is  easier 
to  believe  that  an  increase  of  knowledge  would  en- 
able us  to  explain  them,  and  show  that  they  are 
only  apparent,  than  to  believe  that  the  book — with 
its  transcendent  literary,  political,  moral,  and  theo- 
logical excellence — was  originated  by  the  unaided 
intellect  of  uneducated  and  narrow-minded  Jews. 
Whatever  difficulties  the  Christian  may  have  to 
meet  in  maintaining  the  supernatural  origin  of  the 
Bible,  they  arc  not  so  great  as  those  the  infidel 
has  to  meet  in  maintaining  that  it  is  merely  a  human, 
Jewish  production;  or  the  theist  in  maintaining 
God's  creation  and  government  of  the  world.  But 
beside  this,  the  apparent  inaccuracies  and  mistakes 
in  the  Bible  constitute  an  analogy  between  it  and 
the  works  of  God.  Were  it  free  from  them,  we 
could  hardly  believe  that  it  and  nature  had  the  same 
Author.     But  in  both  there  are  mysteries,  alleged 


THE  TWO  THEORIES,  CHRISTIAN  AND  INFIDEL.    509 

and  apparent  contradictions  and  mistakes,  and  this 
similarity  is  presumptive  evidence  that  He  who 
made  the  world  is  the  Author  of  the  Bible.  Had 
modern  skeptics  been  the  fabricators  of  it,  they  would 
have  avoided  all  apparent  discrepancies  and  contra- 
dictions; and  thus  it  would  have  been  made  unlike 
the  works  of  God,  and  should  have  betrayed  its  hu- 
man origin.  If  the  writers  of  the  Bible  were  not  di- 
vinely inspired,  they  had  deeper  insight  into  nature 
and  providence  than  modern  skeptics  with  all  their 
philosophy  and  learning. 

(3)  Another  consideration  strengthening  the  argu- 
ment drawn  from  the  general  excellence  of  the  Scrip- 
tures is,  that  they  furnish  us  all  the  knowledge  we 
possess  on  many  points  of  the  greatest  interest  and  im- 
portance. If  we  have  any  knowledge  at  all  of  the 
origin  of  man,  his  primitive  state,  his  condition  and 
progress  during  at  least  the  first  twenty-five  centu- 
ries, the  causes  of  his  present  moral  and  physical  con- 
dition, or  his  final  destiny,  it  is  from  the  Scriptures; 
and  if  they  be  not  what  they  purport  to  be — the  pro- 
duct of  a  superhuman  intelligence — we  must  aban- 
don any  belief  we  now  have  on  these  and  on  other 
subjects  of  vital  import,  and  be  content  to  remain  in 
blank  ignorance  concerning  them.  For  in  regard 
to  the  creation  of  the  world,  the  origin  of  man,  his 
primitive  condition,  and  many  other  questions  histor- 
ical, moral,  and  cosmical,  the  only  knowledge  we 
have  or  can  have  must  be  superhuman.  Hence,  in 
regard  to  these  momentous  questions,  we  must  re- 
main in  profound  ignorance,  if  the  writers  of  the 
Bible  had  no  supernatural  knowledge. 
43* 


510     MODES   OF   ACCOUNTING   FOR  ITS   ORIGIN. 

(4)  Another  consideration  bearing  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  supernatural  inspiration  is  this,  that  though 
in  literature,  science,  and  politics,  in  regard  to  which 
the  Bible  does  not  claim  to  be  a  complete  revelation, 
the  human  race  have  progressed  and  are  progressing, 
— yet  in  morality  and  theology,  in  regard  to  which 
it  claims  to  be  a  full  revelation,  no  progress  has 
been  made  since  the  canon  of  Scripture  was  closed. 
In  regard  to  God,  his  nature,  attributes,  and  provi- 
dence; and  in  regard  to  man,  his  origin,  present  con- 
dition and  duties,  and  future  destiny, — the  human 
race,  after  about  sixty  centuries  of  observation,  in- 
vestigation, and  experience,  possess  not  one  truth 
that  is  not  contained  in  the  Bible.  Nor  can  even 
the  wisest,  best,  and  most  gifted  of  men  state  any 
moral  or  theological  truth  that  is  not  already  stated 
in  that  grand  compendium  of  moral  and  theoh»gical 
knowledge.  After  eighteen  hundred  years  of  inves- 
tigation and  improvement,  the  human  race, — even 
the  most  profound  thinkers  in  morals  and  theology, 
— are  compelled  to  leave  moral  and  theological  sci- 
ence where  they  were  left  by  the  Jewish  authors. 
These  two  facts — the  fact  that  the  Bible,  su  far  as  it 
claims  to  be  both  perfect  and  infallible,  (that  is,  in 
reference  to  all  moral  and  theological  subjects,)  is  a 
finality  to  all  mankind,  containing  all  the  truth  at- 
tainable by  the  most  gifted  minds;  and  that  in  liter- 
ature, science,  and  politics,  (in  reierence  to  which  it 
does  not  claim  to  teach  a  complete  system,  though 
infallible  as  far  as  it  goes,)  the  human  race  have  pro- 
gressed and  are  progressing — tliese  two  facts  taken 
together  are  accounted  for  by  the  supernatural  iuspi- 


THE  TWO  THEORIES,  CHRISTIAN  AND  INFIDEL.    611 

ration  of  the  Bible  writers,  and  are  accounted  for  in 
no  other  way. 

These  considerations  strengthen  the  argument 
drawn  from  the  excellence  of  the  Scriptures  to  prove 
their  divine  authorship;  and  render  still  less  credi- 
ble the  theory  of  their  human,  Jewish  origin.  To 
the  infidel  assumption,  then,  that  miracles  are  incredi- 
ble, if  not  impossible,  we  answer— that  the  Bible 
ITSELF  IS  A  MIRACLE ;  as  is  shown  by  its  theologi- 
cal, moral,  political,  and  literary  excellence. 


THE  END. 


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The  Bible  a  Miracle  ;  or,  The  Word  of  God  its  own 

Witness:  The  supernatural  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures 

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3 

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Autobiography  and  Keminiscences  of  Rev.  John- 
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W.  S.  R.  will  republish  on  1st  February  1872, 
Gib  on  the  Covenants. 

The   View  of  the  Covenant  of  Works  and  of  the  Covenant  of 
Grace,  by  Rev.  Adam  Gib,  Minister  of  the  Secession  church, 


of  Edinburgh,  Scotland, — an  eminent  theologian  and  scholar, 
and  a  burning  and  shining  light  in  his  day, — has  long  been 
recognised  as  a  standard  book  of  exact  and  orthodox  theolo- 
gy. It  is  a  book  of  the  most  instructive  character;  presenting 
in  an  original  and  striking  light  many  important  Scriptural 
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of  Works  under  which  man  was  originally  placed,  and  also 
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hind me  as  a  summary  (especially  in  the  Second  Part)  of 
that  gospel  which  I  have  been  preaching ;  and  as  a  testimony 
for  truth,  against  the  present  flood  of  errors;  iu  opposition 
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Date  Due 

Pr  t  3  '4;> 

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